When the night comes
by slash-whump-addict
Summary: Whilst on a trading mission, Sheppard and his team engage in some local customs. On their return to Atlantis, something is different, and Ronon finds that his growing feelings towards Sheppard might not be as one sided as he thought...
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is the first piece of fanfic I ever wrote. That was 2 years ago, and it's still a WiP. *hangs head* There are currently 15 completed chapters, with more _mostly_ done. I'm hoping that posting it will give me the kick up the bum that I need to finish it! :) Due to numerous changes I've made since my first draft, I'm going to categorise this as un-beta'd.

_**When the night comes - chapter 1**_

"I still don't see why we have to come at this time of night!" Ronon complained as he, Sheppard, Rodney and Teyla stepped through the gate to P3M499. "Who the hell holds trade negotiations at dusk? It's stupid, it's just… well, it's just weird!"

The whole team sighed, but it was Teyla that spoke. "We are aware that you are not happy about this arrangement Ronon, as you have told us _several_ times. We have discussed this - it was not appropriate to begin trading negotiations without speaking with Dr. Weir first. We had not expected to discuss such things on our initial visit to a new planet."

"I know that, I was here remember? It just doesn't feel right, that's all. I don't care what their customs are…it's just -"

"_Weird_?" interjected McKay, rolling his eyes, and sighing very loudly.

Finally, Sheppard spoke. "When in Rome Rodney, when in Rome."

McKay immediately protested. "People in Rome used to bugger everyone in sight! There's a limit to what I'll do for the team Sheppard, and that's way beyond it!"

"You say that like it's the end of the world Rodney, I'd expect a little more commitment from you. Where's your team spirit?"

Sheppard was obviously amused by his own question judging by the trademark one-sided-smirk-come-smile he was sporting. Ronon didn't get the joke, but he laughed anyway. The exasperated look from McKay, combined with the wide smile which was now spreading over Sheppard's face and hazel eyes, was enough for Ronon to understand that he was meant to find this funny. He made a mental note to ask Sheppard what buggering was when they got back to Atlantis. Earth terminology was strange, but Ronon still liked to know what things meant. He'd had more than a few altercations with several members of the expedition from a lack of understanding of their terminology, so now he made sure he knew what was what.

~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~

The nervous short mousy haired man, whose name had slipped Ronon's mind, greeted them and began to steer them towards the village. He seemed in a hurry to get them there, looking around often. The planet looked different now - almost eerie in this half-light, which made Ronon uneasy. It made it difficult for his eyes to adjust to his surroundings, leaving him reliant on only his hearing and sense of smell.

Not since his days as a Runner had he been in this situation, which made him even more uncomfortable, with a feeling that he was no longer on top of his game - a shadow of his former self. It wasn't the first time he'd felt like he was losing his edge, despite all the reassurances from Sheppard and Teyla that he was in the same form now, as the day he arrived in Atlantis.

His long fingers were itching to unholster his gun, to have the familiar and reassuring weight and shape of it in his hand. Sheppard seemed to have read his mind and Ronon was startled when Sheppard laid a hand in the middle of his back. Using his lightning quick reflexes he spun himself around, pulling out his gun at the same time.

"Easy there, big guy!" Sheppard said soothingly, now wrapping his other hand around Ronon's wrist to stop him raising it any higher. Ronon's heart was pounding. He was angry, and if he was honest, more than a little ashamed that he'd been so caught up in trying to sense his surroundings, that Sheppard had been able to get so close to him. He was also aware that his carelessness wasn't the only reason his heart was beating out of its normal rhythm.

Ronon had found himself increasingly aware of Sheppard lately, in ways which he had never been aware of any other man. They'd spent years in each other's company, on countless missions, sparring, running, movie nights and other social events. In fact Ronon couldn't think of many occasions when he and Sheppard weren't together, either alone or with the team; but something was different now.

~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~

As the two men looked at each other, Ronon could feel the heat radiating from Sheppard's hands. It was spreading across his back and wrist, the Colonel's grip strong on both areas. Ronon's breath caught as he looked directly into Sheppard's eyes – he had moved so close that Ronon could smell him. Feeling heat rising in his cheeks he quickly looked away, pulling his wrist away from Sheppard's still firm grip. "Sorry, old habits" he croaked.

"I know buddy, it's ok. We'll get out of here as soon as we can, and then I'll kick your ass in the gym!"

Ronon found himself laughing, the heat in his face fading now. "You mean you can _try_ to kick my ass?"

"Hey, give a guy a break – I can live in hope!" Sheppard threw back, laughing as another grin spread across his face. Sheppard turned and looked ahead to the rest of the team. The two men had fallen quite far behind, and Ronon began to think it would be better for them to stay as a full unit. He was distracted from that thought when he became aware of heat travelling down his back and onto his hip. He looked down and saw Sheppard's hand resting there.

"Uh buddy…you wanna move your hand?"

Sheppard looked into Ronon's eyes, then down to his hip where his hand was resting, sounding a little surprised he said "Oh, sorry!". He looked directly at Ronon again before sliding it away.

Feeling even more flustered now Ronon nodded towards the rest of the group and they set off, quickening their pace as they went.

"Race you?" Sheppard asked, with that childlike taunting edge in his voice, and then he was off! Ronon was about to catch him up when he found himself helplessly watching the Colonel run. Although the light was fading fast, Ronon could see the petrol blue BDU's pulled taut over his muscular thighs and backside, and found that actually, he didn't feel like running right now.

TBC...


	2. Chapter 2

_**When the night comes - chapter 2**_

Ronon was surprised to find that they had reached the village. It had been at least a twenty minute walk from the gate only a few days ago, they couldn't be there already...could they? For the second time that evening Ronon cursed himself. He realised that he had walked all the way to the village thinking about nothing but Sheppard; and not once considered what was going on around him.

He'd allowed his mind to wander, trying to imagine what Sheppard looked like under that uniform. Countless times they'd both been in the showering area together and Ronon had never once glanced in the Colonel's direction, why would he? Only now did Ronon find himself straining to remember any glimpse he may have unknowingly had and bring that image to mind. What the hell was he doing? Sheppard was a team-mate – his _Commanding Officer_ for fuck's sake – but above all else, he was a man.

During his seven years as a Runner, Ronon had barely spent a night in a village for fear of the Wraith turning up at any minute, let alone had any opportunity to be with a woman. His only partner during those long years had been his own hand. Sex wasn't a luxury he could afford, and for the most part he though little about it, but sometimes when he needed the kind of release that killing or fighting couldn't bring, he had little option. He didn't think about anything when he did it - fantasies were another luxury he couldn't afford, and that meant he did it rough and fast, serving its purpose. The last thing he wanted was to be caught by surprise by a Wraith and be fed on while he still had his dick in his hand. Realising things hadn't really changed _that_ much now, Ronon snorted at the irony of it all.

"Hey! Helloooo? Ronon!"

Looking round he saw McKay stood directly in front of him, waiting expectantly for an answer to a question that Ronon hadn't heard.

"What's going on?" he asked. With his usual drama McKay brought Ronon up to speed on what had happened….

The village elders had invited the team to join in their monthly ceremonial feast of Rypvaem, and they were to be the guests of honour as the village's latest trading partners (Dr Weir's voice rang in his head - _potential_ trading partners). Ronon had never heard of such a ritual, but it was a big galaxy, there was a lot he didn't know.

They were led to a vast tent like structure, which was filled with tables so heavily laden with all manner of fabulous looking food, and flagons of ale and wine that they looked as though they might collapse at any moment. Ronon could've sworn he heard McKay squeak at the sight.

Sheppard was heading towards a seat, unhooking his P90 as he went, and sat down next to a dark haired attractive woman, who was showing a little too much cleavage in Ronon's opinion.

"Typical" he muttered, which was followed by "Every bloody time" from McKay. Teyla chose a seat on the other side of Sheppard next to a blonde woman with a wide welcoming smile, leaving Ronon no choice but to sit with McKay.

~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~

Some time later Ronon was drinking yet another goblet of the ale provided by the villagers. It was sickly sweet, but satisfyingly strong. McKay had told him it was similar to something they had on Earth called mead, crossed with a good English ale. Ronon didn't care – if they didn't leave soon he was just going to drink until he passed out.

He had found himself becoming increasingly frustrated watching the woman with Sheppard draping herself over him. Sheppard didn't seem to mind at all though, which made the frustration all the worse. He seemed content to let the woman feed him and drink from her goblet as well as his own, and even more content when she leaned in to kiss his neck as well as his lips. That was the last straw, feeling his face flush Ronon let out an audible growl and left the table.

His head was pounding with anger at himself over what felt a lot like jealousy. It was really just an instinct to protect his team…wasn't it? He found a quiet spot by one of the many fires that were lit around the village, and sat down, willing himself to calm down. He tried some of the breathing exercises Teyla had taught him during their meditation sessions, but that only made him worse. He couldn't clear his mind no matter how hard he tried.

As he was ready to admit defeat and head back into the feast, he was again startled by someone stood only inches away from him. Fuck, not _again_!Looking up he was relieved to see Teyla standing there, with two goblets. He took the one she offered him; thankful it wasn't the wine he'd tasted earlier. It had an earthy, bitter taste that was somehow familiar but that he couldn't place it. It made his head fuzzy, and so he went back to the ale.

As he took a long deep drink, Teyla spoke.

"Ronon is everything OK? You do not seem yourself."

"I'm fine." he snapped.

She raised one eyebrow and looked at him suspiciously, "If there is something you'd like to talk about…"

Ronon cut her off by standing quickly, "I said I'm _fine_, now will you just leave it?" Before she had a chance to speak again he noticed that she was no longer in uniform. "When did you get changed?"

Teyla's tone was gentle as she replied, "When it became clear that the villagers were expecting us to stay the night, Colonel Sheppard and I returned to Atlantis to update Dr. Weir on the negotiations; and that we would be staying here tonight. Colonel Sheppard expressed a desire to change into more casual attire, and I felt it would be wise for me to do the same. We tried to find you but one of the villagers told us you were in the company of a young woman, and so we did not wish to …interrupt."

Ronon snorted. There had been a woman paying him lots of attention, and several times offering her goblet of wine. When he refused angrily on her last attempt, she left and he didn't see her again all night. "Well next time, I want to know where he is…er…where you all are. I need to know you're safe." he snapped.

Teyla looked deep into his eyes, "I did not think you would be so upset by our actions. This is most unlike you."

Ronon's glare was enough to stop her pushing the subject any further. Standing herself, she nodded towards the tents, and he followed.

~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~

As they reached their table again, Ronon wished he'd stayed outside. When he saw what Sheppard was wearing his breath caught. He was sat in the chair - again being pawed by the village woman – in a t-shirt that was enough to make Ronon let out a strangled noise from deep in his throat. He had no idea that a plain black v-neck t-shirt could look so good.

As Sheppard reached for his once-again filled goblet his perfectly toned biceps flexed, and the movement caused the shirt to pull tighter across his firm chest. Ronon knew he should look away, but he seemed to have lost the ability to control his eyes. Just when he'd almost managed to, Sheppard stood and his resolve faltered even further.

The Colonel was wearing the skinny fit jeans he had bought on his last visit to Earth a few months ago. Ronon remembered being shown them after Sheppard returned, and wondering why the hell he was so excited about a pair of jeans. Now he knew why! They left nothing to the imagination, and Ronon found himself unable to stop staring.

As Sheppard started to leave the table the Satedan's eyes travelled with him, noting that the jeans showed off his legs and backside even more spectacularly that his BDUs, but most of all, his crotch. Ronon's throat went dry from the sharp intake of breath. He swallowed in an attempt to moisten it, but found he had no salvia. He felt his own crotch swelling at an alarming rate at the sight of Sheppard on display like this.

"Wouldn't you just love to get your hands on a body like that?"

For the third time that night Ronon jumped, looking round to find McKay stood next to him. With a sense of dread he watched McKay, desperately hoping that he hadn't been seen ogling Sheppard like a horny teenager. He followed McKay's gaze, heart pounding, and to his relief saw that the scientist was looking at the woman with an obvious longing.

"Oh…er...yeah, who wouldn't?" he found himself saying, hoping he sounded convincing. McKay obviously bought it, and began to help himself to another chicken leg and stuffing it into his mouth.

"Lucky bastard! What's so special about him anyway?"

Ronon watched helplessly as the woman led Sheppard from the tent with a hungry look in her eyes, which by the light of the fires appeared tinged with red. The sickening look of infatuation on Sheppard's face made Ronon's stomach turn as he realised with absolute certainty that Sheppard wouldn't be sleeping alone tonight.

Suddenly aware of the fact that he was rock hard, Ronon covered his bulging crotch with his coat and sat down with a growl. "No idea" he grunted in response to McKay's question, but the scientist was too busy devouring yet another chicken leg to hear him.

As Ronon downed a whole flagon of ale in one, McKay made a mumbled comment about cavemen that the Satedan didn't quite catch. All he cared about right now was getting as drunk as possible, as soon as possible.

TBC...


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Ronon woke the next day, and from the moment he opened his eyes he instantly regretted it. His eyes burnt and his head was pounding so hard he felt like someone was punching him repeatedly. He became aware that he could barely move his head. When he tried, he got a shooting pain the whole way down his neck and shoulder. Slowly he realised that he had achieved his goal of passing out where he sat. Pushing himself up off his chair his back and legs protested too, but not as much as his bladder, and he set of to find somewhere to empty it.

On his way back he spotted two figures coming out of a nearby hut-like building – Sheppard and the woman. She had an air of satisfaction about her that made Ronon's stomach turn. Sheppard looked none to steady on his feet.

"You look like shit, buddy." he said on seeing Ronon.

"You don't look too hot yourself, Sheppard!" This was a lie. Even sporting the just out of bed look, Sheppard looked stunning, the jeans and t-shirt not doing Ronon's morning urges any favours whatsoever. Again pulling his coat over the growing bulge, he noticed that Sheppard looked a lot paler than usual, but judging by the pounding in his own head, he guessed that he looked like death too.

"We need to go." He threw a glace the woman's way "Now!" He didn't wait for Sheppard's response; instead he headed towards where McKay and Teyla were saying their goodbyes.

The walk back to the gate was more refreshing than he expected, and even though it was a cool day, Ronon took off his coat to try and let out some of the heat he was still retaining from the alcohol. Even with McKay's constant complaining about how terrible his hangover was, Ronon felt positive that getting back to Atlantis would do something to take his mind off Sheppard. He'd made sure that he set off for the gate at a quicker than normal pace, to make sure he was ahead of Sheppard, and even went as far as pulling McKay along with him making sure he wouldn't be in the Colonel's proximity. If he got too close to the Colonel, he'd be able to smell the woman on him; and he had enough problems as it was.

~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~

The compulsory post-mission check-up went without incident - Beckett's lecture on the irresponsibility of drinking so much when off-world with people they've only just met, notwithstanding - and the team went their separate ways from the Infirmary.

"Ronon, wait up!" He heard heavy footfalls behind him, followed by another instruction to wait, so he had to turn and face Sheppard. "Hell of a night hey buddy? Looking half embarrassed and half pleased with himself, the Colonel continued, "Tell you the truth, I don't even remember all of it, so it must've been a good one! I did bring a couple of bottles of that wine back with me though, if you're interested!"

Before he could stop himself, Ronon had rolled his eyes and let out a frustrated growl. A puzzled look spread across Sheppard's face.

"Everything OK?"

"Fine…everything's fine. I just want to shower and get proper some sleep." he said impatiently, immediately regretting his tone of voice as he saw Sheppard's disappointed look.

"OK, that's cool." Sheppard said, reaching out to pat his team-mate's bare shoulder. They stood looking at each other for what could only have been a couple of seconds, but felt a lot longer. Sheppard's hand was sending heat and shivers through him at the same time. "Get some rest." Sheppard ordered, then turned and walked away.

Entering his quarters, Ronon shook his head and muttered to himself "Come on Ronon, get your shit together." He quickly undressed and got into the shower, the water as hot as he could stand to help ease his aching muscles. As he stood there feeling the water running off his broad muscular shoulders down the rest of his body, he found himself thinking of Sheppard…again.

He couldn't shake the image of him dressed in those jeans and t-shirt. Cursing himself, he tried to concentrate on coming up with a modified training programme for the new Marines, but that led to him imagining a sweaty Sheppard training with them, and a surge of heat in his groin made him hard within seconds. Determined not to do anything about it, he washed roughly, pushing deep into his muscles until it was so uncomfortable that all thoughts of Sheppard were forgotten.

~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~

After two hours of trying unsuccessfully to sleep, persistent thoughts of Sheppard swimming in his mind, Ronon headed to the gym. After a long mission Teyla was usually in there making up for lost time and always willing to spar. As he entered he saw her there and was met by a sense of relief – he could work his frustration out this way - but the relief was short lived. Sheppard had beaten him to it, and judging by the sheen of sweat of them both, they'd been there some time.

"Hey buddy, what happened to getting some sleep?"

Ronon shrugged, and picked up some sticks. There were some Marines on the other side of the gym, he'd spar with them. He took a couple of steps before Teyla spoke.

"I'm afraid I cannot stay any longer Colonel, my people are expecting me on the mainland. Ronon, maybe you could take my place?"

It was the last thing he needed, but couldn't come up with a plausible excuse not to spar with Sheppard, so he nodded and headed their way instead. By the look of the Colonel he wouldn't last long anyway. He was even paler now, and his squint gave away the headache he was obviously trying to mask.

"Maybe you should call it a day Sheppard, you look like hell."

"Hey" he protested "You owe me a chance to kick your ass!"

"To _try_!" Ronon corrected him, smirking.

After fifteen minutes it was obvious that no matter how much he protested, the Colonel was dead on his feet. With little effort, Ronon knocked his legs from under him, and pinned him easily to the mat.

"I think it's time you gave in!" he said, feeling his heart beating much faster than it had only a few seconds before. He became aware that he was pressed over Sheppard's crotch and he eased his weight off him slightly as he felt the familiar twitch and heat building in his own, and willing it to stop.

Sheppard lay there looking up at him - _watching him_ – his eyes travelling over Ronon's face and neck until he licked his fuller than usual lips. Raising his hips slightly, in almost a whisper he said, "No Ronon, I think it's time _you_ gave in."

Gasping as he realised that Sheppard was hard beneath him, Ronon began to push his weight up, but it was too late. Sheppard had already felt the larger man's arousal, and a satisfied smirk spread across the Colonel's face.

**TBC...**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

It had been three days since the incident in the gym, and Ronon had done his best to stay out of Sheppard's way. Dr. Weir had felt it was time that Lorne's team had the opportunity to be the Alpha team, leaving Sheppard's team with some well earned downtime. Ronon wholeheartedly agreed with this – Lorne had always been reliable, and always had their backs when they needed him. The Satedan was pleased for him, the recognition was well deserved. He was also very grateful - he couldn't handle a mission right now.

In the Commissary, McKay was once again bitching about Sheppard's absence. The Colonel hadn't been turning up for breakfast, sleeping late and complaining of headaches and nausea which lasted most of the day.

"It really is a good job Lorne's holding the fort looking for gates for the intergalactic bridge, otherwise we'd be screwed! God knows how much he drank to still have a hangover after two days!"

"Three days" Ronon corrected him; although to him it had felt more like three weeks. He'd spent most of that time replaying the events in the gym over and over in his mind.

"Oh, begging Sir's pardon…_three_ days" was Rodney's particularly snarky comeback.

Feeling like he could explode at any minute, Ronon rose from the table. A booming "Shut it, McKay!" was heard by the handful of people in there with them, before Ronon disappeared out of the door.

~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~

As they had plenty of downtime and he didn't want to be hanging around the city with nothing to do, Ronon had offered to join Teyla in going to the mainland to help the Athosians plant new crops. They left early and got back so late that most of the city was asleep. Not a natural farmer, he was bored beyond belief but it was physical work that tired him out, and kept his mind off Sheppard - most of the time.

At the end of the third day a feast was held to celebrate a successful planting. There had been dancing and a steady flow of wine and a local ale of which Ronon was becoming rather fond of. Like the last one, this was just as strong, and had a bittersweet taste which was just right for his taste buds.

He had been enjoying watching Teyla with her people as she making the time to talk to each of them one by one. He had also spent an enjoyable hour talking with Melissa, a beautiful dark haired young woman with whom Teyla was very close. Melissa had been telling him of an Earth custom she had heard about from Colonel Sheppard on his last visit. She explained that it was something a handful of the Athosians had been keen to try, herself included. Ronon was a little reluctant to follow her into her hut for her to show him, but decided he had nothing to lose. Half an hour later he emerged with Melissa and her brother in tow; himself now a convert to the somewhat strange Earth custom.

Assuming that they would be spending the night on the mainland he asked Teyla whether there was anything stronger than the ale. In return he got a raised eyebrow and a warning that Dr. Weir was expecting them. After one unexpected overnight stay, she wanted them back in Atlantis. Resigned to the fact that he had no choice in the matter, he watched as Teyla said her goodbyes to her people. Melissa arrived back by Ronon's side and handed him a brown bottle. "Don't drink that all by yourself." she advised, "And watch out, it's got some bite!" Winking, she left to say her own goodbye to Teyla.

~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~

It was gone midnight when they got back to Atlantis yet Dr. Weir was still up, and Ronon knew she was waiting up for them. Hearing the gate activate she came out of her office and greeted them.

"How did it go?" she asked them both, but it was Teyla who answered, with a wide grin on her face.

"Very well." If you would like to hear more maybe we could get a drink and discuss it?" Elizabeth giggled in an uncharacteristically girly way and pulled Teyla in the direction of her office. Ronon recognised girl talk when he heard it, and bid them goodnight.

He set off for his quarters for a long shower and a good night's sleep. As he turned the final corner on his way, he was startled to find Sheppard waiting for him in the doorway.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

Looking affronted Sheppard replied, "Nice to see you too buddy! You've been avoiding me, I wanted to clear the air, make sure we're OK."

Ronon wanted so much to say that no, everything _wasn't_ fucking OK. He wanted to say that his head was swimming with memories of Sheppard pressed up against him, and thoughts of what might've happened if he hadn't scrambled off Sheppard and left the gym… if he'd kissed him, ripped that damn t-shirt off him and set to work on everything he wanted to do to him instead.

Tonight he just wanted to get blind drunk and forget everything that had happened over the last week. Instead he said "Yeah, we're fine, I've just been busy."

Sheppard wasn't fooled. "Look, I'm sorry, OK? I was out of line. I don't know what came over me."

Unable to stop the thought that if he'd been lucky, it would've been him that came over Sheppard, Ronon shook his head to clear the image from his mind. Then he realised the Colonel was waiting for answer. "Fine. Just leave it Sheppard, I'm going to bed."

He thought the smaller man might've tried to block his way, but he didn't. Instead, with some speed he gripped Ronon's wrist, hand hot and firm around him. Pushing thoughts of how he'd rather have that hand wrapped around other parts of him, he kept his voice steady, "Let go of me Sheppard, now!"

Sheppard's grip stayed firm. He moved closer to Ronon, looking at him in the same way as he had done in the gym. Heart beating faster, trying to pull his wrist away caused Sheppard's grip tighten even more. Forcefully, he repeated his request, to which the Colonel only smiled.

"Make me!" he said in the same taunting tone as before. They both knew that Ronon could break his arm in a flash if he wanted to, but the truth was that he didn't want Sheppard to let go, and Sheppard knew it. Licking his lips, and raising his free hand, the Colonel stroked Ronon's cheek then ran a finger across his neck and shoulder, making the bigger man visibly shudder.

Sheppard's hungry grin widened, knowing that Ronon was starting to give in to him. Moving closer, he reached up and held Ronon's face with both hands, leaning in. As their lips were about to touch Ronon pulled back, hand on Sheppard's chest pushing him away.

"What the fuck are you playing at Sheppard?" Head swimming, he stormed into his quarters and locked the door behind him before Sheppard had chance to answer.

TBC…


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter note: Rating increases from PG-13 to R** (or equilalent)

_**When the night comes - chapter 5**_

Sat again in the Commissary with Teyla the next day, Ronon began pushing his now stone cold lunch around his plate. He didn't know whether he wanted to see Sheppard or not. He was angry at the Colonel for pissing him about, and worried that by pulling away he'd been the one to ruin their friendship.

Teyla let out a heavy sigh. "Ronon, I wish you would tell me what is troubling you. Maybe I can help."

Not wanting to have what would be a painfully awkward conversation, he simply shrugged and left.

~ . ~ . ~

He spent the rest of his day at the shooting range, sparring with 9 Marines whom he defeated with ease, and finally went for a run. After another hot shower to ease his aching muscles, he dressed and headed for the door. He didn't know where he was going to go, but he sure as hell didn't want to be cooped up in his quarters.

The bell rang, and he opened the door to a smiling Sheppard who was carrying a heavily filled tray of food, along with a bottle of wine brought back from P3M499. He raised the tray at Ronon and nodded. "Peace offering?"

Sheppard was obviously making an effort, so Ronon decided to give him a break and let him in. As he followed Sheppard into the room he couldn't help but notice he was wearing _those_ jeans and t-shirt again and his blood rushed both into his cheeks and his crotch.

They ate greedily, and despite protesting about the wine, Ronon drank what Sheppard offered him. It was amazingly strong, and went straight to his head and as they chatted about anything and everything, the events of the past few days apparently forgotten. Back to normal…only it wasn't.

All the while they'd been together; Ronon knew that Sheppard had been watching him with intent. As there was nowhere else to sit, they were on Ronon's bed, their backs up against the wall. It wasn't very comfortable but they usually did this in Sheppard's quarters which were bigger and had chairs to sit on. They sat in silence for a few minutes and Ronon began rolling the cork from the wine bottle in his hands when he became uncomfortable.

Looking up to say something, _anything_ to break the silence, he realised that Sheppard was watching him yet again with the same hungry look as before. Swallowing hard Ronon moved to get off the bed but as soon as he did, a hot hand was on his arm. Sheppard licked his lips and shifted his body to face Ronon. He ran his hand down the powerful arm and swept his fingers over Ronon's palm before lifting it to his lips and kissing it.

Ronon froze on the spot, and suddenly his mouth had gone dry again. Sheppard leaned in, and this time the Satedan didn't pull away – he couldn't, and more importantly he didn't want to. Sheppard kissed him, gently at first, and when he got no resistance, opened his mouth wider, his tongue searching for Ronon's. The heat radiating from Sheppard's lips was unbelievable; it almost burned Ronon's skin. As their kiss became deeper Sheppard slipped his hand under Ronon's shirt and over his firm belly and abs, making deep hungry noises from his throat.

Pulling away for breath, Ronon looked at the Colonel who let out what sounded much like a snarl at the interruption. Sheppard's hand moved down and brushed the large bulge in Ronon's trousers with the palm of his hand. It felt so good, it had been so long, and Ronon was worried that if Sheppard carried he might come from that alone.

Shifting his own weight towards the Colonel, Ronon ran one hand over the firm chest in front of him and felt that Sheppard's heart was pounding like his own. With his other hand he reached down and rubbed over the hard, hot bulge he'd already felt against him in the gym. Now he wanted more. He wanted to touch it, to wrap his long fingers around it and watch Sheppard lose control as he stroked it, pulled it…and oh God, sucked it. His head swam and his breath caught at the thought of it. Sheppard stopped him from rubbing any more.

"This is about you" he said, pushing Ronon roughly down onto the bed and lay on top of him, kissing him so hard there was no grace to it, just urgent passion. Just when he thought he was going to suffocate, the hot lips moved down his jaw line and onto his neck. Sheppard was licking and sucking at the Satedan tattoo like his life depended on it and Ronon imagined that the Colonel could feel his pulse throbbing against his mouth.

Sheppard was grinding his hip against Ronon's crotch at the same time, and again worried he wasn't going to last, Ronon flipped Sheppard over and climbed off him and the bed. He looked down at his clothes and then with a questioning look at Sheppard.

"Take them off. Slowly... very slowly!" Sheppard growled.

Thankful for the opportunity to calm down, Ronon did as instructed and began to undress. The room was now only lit by the moonlight which poured in through the window onto Sheppard's pale, tired face. He was following every movement of Ronon's hands, and looking at the dark toned body in front of him. As Ronon's long, normally graceful fingers reached belt buckle, he found they had frozen._ What the fuck am I doing?_ he asked himself.

"I…I don't know whether I can do this, Sheppard."

The Colonel stood and walked towards him, tired, red rimmed eyes wilder still, lips enticingly swollen. "It's only a belt Ronon, no big deal." Sheppard said in an amused drawl.

Growling with frustration the larger man dropped his hands. "I mean" gesturing between them "_this_".

Sheppard came closer towards him, laid his forehead on the Satedan's chest and breathed heavily before asking, "Do you want to fuck or not?"

Taken aback by the bluntness of the question, Ronon hesitated before answering, and couldn't help but smirk as he replied "Do you think you'd still have your balls if I didn't?"

"Good point!" Sheppard chuckled as he reached down and started tugging at the buckle, "Now shut up and let me get this damn thing undone."

**TBC…**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter notes:** OK here you go, this is where we go NC-17. So yeah, the sex bit. For the record, I'm not happy with this scene at all, and I hate the word 'cock', but you can't seem to get away from it in slash fanfic, so it's here under duress. Just thought you should know! LOL.

We go back to actual story after this! Yay! :D

~ . ~ . ~

**Chapter 6**

Now completely naked, Ronon made to remove Sheppard's clothes, hardly believing this was actually happening and wanting to run his hands over every inch he could reach; but Sheppard shook his head and guided him back towards the bed. Pushing him roughly onto it, he again climbed on top and began to kiss his way down the Satedan's strong jaw line. He licked all the way down the long inviting neck causing both of them to shiver. Moving down the beautiful firm chest the Colonel took Ronon's right nipple into his mouth, sucking hard. It sent waves of pleasure right through the Ronon, and although he tried not to move, the bigger man's hips appeared to have a mind of their own and gently thrust up. As his tongue traced a line to Ronon's left nipple Sheppard stopped, looking surprised and curious at what he saw.

There, hanging from the red and swollen flesh was a silver ring. "Where did you get that?" Sheppard asked, looking from the ring to Ronon's face, clearly turned on by the unexpected piercing.

"Teyla's friend on the mainland did it. She said you'd told her it was an Earth custom."

"Huh." followed by a smirk was Sheppard's only response before he bent to gently envelope the whole area with his scorching hot mouth. With a sharp intake of breath Ronon rode out the pain – at only a day old it was still painfully tender. Sheppard was either ignoring the strangled noises, or enjoying it because he continued to circle the nipple and ring with his tongue. Just as Ronon didn't think he could take it anymore, Sheppard raised his head and blew on the nipple, cool air soothing both the heat and the pain. Ronon almost whimpered as Sheppard stroked the strong muscular belly below him, before bending to softly kiss it.

Slowly the Colonel moved his down to the hardness that was now begging for his attention and let out a strangled moan as he looked at it. It made the Satedan moan himself at Sheppard's unspoken compliment. As soon as Sheppard's scorching tongue slid back his skin and licked the swollen head, Ronon's brain swam and his whole body tensed. "_Don't come, don't come_!" he told himself as Sheppard took him fully into his mouth.

It felt like he was floating, hearing only his own pounding heartbeat. He felt sure his hands were tangled in Sheppard's deliciously messy hair, but he could only feel the hot mouth that was pulling on him hard and slow. He felt Sheppard reach up and put two fingers into his mouth and he began to suck on them in the same rhythm that Sheppard was sucking him.

With a wet suction the fingers were pulled from his mouth and slowly pushed inside him. Ronon gasped in surprise at the intrusion, though did nothing to stop it. They slowly but firmly probed him until he felt the telltale tightening in his balls, the combination of the two acts sending more pleasure through him than he ever thought possible. His head swam again, a red glow built behind his eyes and he cried out as he came so hard it was almost painful.

With his heart feeling like it was going to beat out of his chest, Ronon reached down and pulled Sheppard up to his mouth and kissed him hard. He could taste himself on Sheppard's tongue, along with that damn wine.

The heat from Sheppard's body was causing Ronon to sweat and as he ran his hands over the Colonel's back he realised it was still clothed. Sitting up Ronon reached over and peeled off the t-shirt that had had him so helplessly mesmerised. Sheppard's mouth was back on his neck the second the shirt was off – it was like he couldn't bear not to have some part of him exploring Ronon's body. As he unbuckled Sheppard's belt and slid off his jeans and boxers in one tug, Ronon winced as felt a sharp pain in his neck; but was so distracted by the hardness that met his hand he forgot all about it. Slowly he wrapped his fingers around the thick, hot cock that he had wanted for so long and he hardened again himself, heat flooding into his whole body.

Slowly he stroked the deliciously soft skin in his hand he wondered how in the great scheme of things, a few inches of flesh could drive him so wild. He gently pushed Sheppard's shoulder so that he had to break contact with Ronon's neck, and Ronon lifted his chin so that they were eye to eye. As he tightened his grip on Sheppard's dick, Ronon's breath caught as the Colonel threw his head back and moaned. Attempting to guide Sheppard down onto the bed he was shocked when Sheppard firmly pushed him away.

"No!" he said forcefully, and quickly slid from Ronon's grip. Disappointed, Ronon opened his mouth to protest but his words were cut off by the hot mouth back on his. Pulling from the kiss and in a softer voice the Colonel said "Later, you now." Ronon's second protesting noise became a moan as Sheppard grasped him again, stroking firmly and slowly while he manoeuvred himself between Ronon's long muscular legs. Reaching for his jeans, Sheppard pulled out a foil wrapper and put on the condom with a mumbled curse, "_Fucking hate these things_."

Ronon couldn't help but chuckle at the look on Sheppard's face, but it soon faded as his legs were lifted and hooked over Sheppard's shoulders. The hungry look spread over the Colonel's face as he began to push into him and Ronon froze. After all this time this is what he'd wanted, but now it was actually happening it scared him. _What would it mean for their friendship? How would it affect the team_? Cursing himself as he did it, he reached out and put his hand on Sheppard's chest.

"Wait...stop… the team…" he searched for the right words to string a sentence together but nothing came out. He pulled away from Sheppard as best he could with virtually no control over his legs, but he was barely able to move. He tried to speak again "Want to…never done it." but he was cut off by Sheppard thrusting part way into him.

"Ronon, _please._" the figure above and inside him, was pleading, not only with his voice but his eyes too. Those beautiful hazel eyes were looking straight _into him _with such longing and desperation, and as he looked at Sheppard, Ronon had never felt such desire in his life.

Feeling the skilful hand wrapped around him again, as the hot throbbing cock pushed almost painfully inside him, Ronon's body made the decision for him. All the tension in his muscles ebbed away and he relaxed and as he nodded he felt Sheppard push further into him with a passionate force, and he cried out in both pain and pleasure. "_Jesus Sheppard_!" he yelled.

The Colonel gave him a lust filled smirk. "Sorry. You're a big strong guy, you can handle it!" and bent to kiss him hard and hungry. Ronon's head swam again as his body relaxed further to allow Sheppard to pound into him with everything he had, gripping Ronon's thighs tight enough that there would surely be bruises.

He knew that everything would hurt like a bitch tomorrow, but at that moment Ronon didn't give a damn – Sheppard was taking him to new realms of pleasure and he wasn't going to stop for anything. All sense of time lost in pleasure, Ronon panted "So good." as he heard Sheppard moaning and grunting, clearly on the edge.

"Close…so close" Sheppard growled as he drove into Ronon with even more pressure, pulling hard and fast on Ronon's solid cock. The throbbing and heat of Sheppard's release was too much for Ronon to take, and he pulsed into Sheppard's hand with a roar before passing out seconds later.

TBC…


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: So we had the smut, now back to the story. Enjoy!

**When the night comes - chapter 7**

Ronon was woken early the next morning by the sound of the doorbell chiming. It took him a few seconds to come round. His head was pounding and his eyes were on fire. It felt like the worst hangover he'd ever had, but he knew it couldn't be, he'd only had 2 glasses of wine with Sheppard. No, he thought, it must be something else. He felt like shit, and he concluded that he must be ill with a high fever because he'd had the strangest - and most pleasurable – dream that Sheppard had seduced him.

"Alright, alright, I'm coming" he croaked to whoever was at the door. As he sat up he saw his own clothes strewn across the floor, and felt the burning in his neck, nipple and as he stood, in his ass. Despite the searing heat, his eyes opened fast and wide as realisation struck – it hadn't been a dream! Spinning around fast and instantly regretting it, he looked at the bed – it was empty.

Torn between relief and disappointment, he was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of the bell chiming yet again. "I _said_ I'm COMING!" he shouted angrily as he pulled on his leather trousers then swiped the door panel to find Teyla standing there.

"You are an hour late for our sparring session, Ronon. It is most unlike you." As she took in his sweaty half-naked appearance she asked, "Are you unwell?"

"Uh no, sorry, slept in. Give me 10 minutes and I'll meet you in the gym."

She looked at him suspiciously "Only if you are certain."

Ronon only growled and swiped the panel to shut the door, he'd apologise to her later. He splashed cold water on his face in an attempt to wake himself up and caught sight of himself in the mirror. He was unusually pale, had bags under his bloodshot eyes, and dried blood on his neck. Cleaning it off was surprisingly painful – even though it was tepid water he soaked the cloth in, it felt like it was boiling. There were raised spots where Sheppard had been carelessly rough with him. Rising onto the balls of his feet to look into the small mirror. There was also dried blood on the flesh between neck and shoulder, and looking down, on his nipple too. From the burning throb in his ass his guessed that he'd been bleeding there as well. "Damn it, Sheppard!"

Cleaning himself off as best he could he dressed and set off for the gym at as fast a pace as his aching head and body would allow, downing two bottles of water on his way. He _still_ couldn't get the taste of that awful wine out of his mouth either, despite brushing his teeth twice. Teyla was already pissed off with him as it was, and knowing full well she could put him on his ass as soon as look at him, he didn't want to make matters worse by being even later.

Aware that his reactions were slow, he received several painful whacks from the sticks; a split lip and very nearly a knee to the groin. He was sure Teyla did this to prove a point by stopping a hair's breath from his delicate area! He was sweating profusely and felt himself swaying on the spot.

"We are done." said Teyla in a very decisive tone. As he leaned in to touch her head in the now familiar Athosian gesture, she winced at his touch. "Ronon you are extremely hot!"

Smirking, he looked at her "Thanks!" The raising of her eyebrow wiped the smirk from his face. "I'm just tired, I had a...late night."

Bidding her farewell he headed back to his quarters and into the shower, thankful for the relief the cool water brought; wishing that he could quench his constant thirst in the same way. Despite the energetic events of the previous night combined with the calories he's burned in his effort to spar with Teyla, he felt no hunger – maybe he really was ill after all.

He wondered if he should go and see Sheppard, maybe he was feeling as rough. At the thought his stomach lurched with such an urgent longing – Ronon had to see Sheppard, and he had to see him right the fuck _now_.

~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~

Most of his body was still wet as he dressed and headed from his own quarters in the direction of the Colonel's. When he arrived he was surprised to find the door wide open. He went inside and called Sheppard's name but there was no reply. He glanced around the room, noting that the bed hadn't been slept in, and wondered how long ago Sheppard had left before Ronon woke.

As he made his way through the city looking for Sheppard he become more and more distressed when he found no trace of him. He spotted McKay in a corridor, "Have you seen Sheppard anywhere?"

"Oh, and a good morning to you too!" McKay snarked. "Honestly Ronon by now I thought you'd have learned some manners!" Ronon growled in response, and watched the scientist squirm on the spot. "Infirmary. He's in the Infirmary."

Ronon's stomach did a somersault. "Infirmary? Why, is he hurt?" the urgency in his voice obvious. "He's still got a hangover apparently, and Beckett wants to make sure it's nothing more serious. If you ask me he just wants some time to…" but Rodney didn't get a chance to finish his sentence – Ronon had already set off at top speed across the city.

~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~

He arrived in the doorway, panting and almost doubled over with the sick feeling at the pit of his stomach. Staggering in he looked around, and seeing no-one he made his way to the ward area. Carson was working by a sink at the back on the Infirmary and on seeing Ronon ran straight to him, calling for a nurse as he went. He gripped Ronon's shoulders, "What is it? What's wrong lad?"

"I'm fine" he croaked. "Sheppard…"

Carson gave a derisive snort, "You are anything but bloody fine, big man. How long have you been like this?" Ronon pushed Carson away, looking over his head in search of Sheppard.

"Where is he?" he demanded. Carson was clearly concerned over Ronon's health, but seeing the obvious distress on the Satedan's face he reluctantly answered the questions.

"He's through there but I really think we should take a look at you." His breath was wasted though, Ronon was already gone.

The sight that met him as he pulled back the curtains wasn't a healthy one. Sheppard was in bed, wearing short sleeved white scrubs, looking deathly pale. Raising his head weakly, Sheppard managed a faint smile. "Hey", what are you doing here?"

"McKay told me you were here, I…I was…" _terrified _he thought, "I was worried." He started to reach out to take Sheppard's hand but pulled it back quickly at the clearly annoyed voice of Carson approached him.

"What on _Earth_ do you think you're doing, Ronon Dex? You can't just come barging into my bloody hospital like this! Let me take a look at you."

The Satedan shook the Scotsman's hand off him roughly. "I'm not the one in bed. What's wrong with him Doc?" hoping that he'd managed to sound calm now he'd almost got his breath back.

"As far as I can tell, nothing…that's the problem." Carson sighed. Confused, Ronon looked from the doctor to the pale, clammy and drawn figure in the bed.

"But look at him..."

Carson patted his arm, "I'm working on it lad, don't worry." The sincerity of his words put Ronon at ease, and he knew Sheppard was in the most capable hands. A nurse came in with a tray of tubes and a syringe, and Sheppard groaned.

"You've already had an armful, how much more do you need?"

Carson chuckled, "This should be the last now Colonel. I'm running all the tests I can. Come on big man, the Colonel needs his rest, there's nothing you can do." As Carson pulled Ronon away from the bed, he realised that yet again he was staring at Sheppard. He looked so vulnerable lying there and it broke Ronon's heart, but damn if he didn't look good in those scrubs!

**TBC…**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

After receiving a lecture on the etiquette of hospital visits, Ronon assured Carson that there wouldn't be a repeat performance. Four hours later, the doctor discharged Sheppard having being unable to find anything wrong. Bizarrely Sheppard seemed to have gotten over the worst of whatever was ailing him, and although still pale was definitely on the mend.

"I'm taking you off active duty for a few days Colonel until I get to the bottom of this. I need you to make sure you rest and get plenty of fluids. Ronon, can I rely on you to make sure that happens?"

"Sure Doc, I can do that." Ronon chirruped, eager to get out of the Infirmary. He'd stayed by Sheppard's side all the while – it had become clear in his mind that he never wanted to leave the Colonel's side ever again – and he couldn't wait to get them both out of there. The feeling seemed to be mutual as Sheppard didn't even bother changing into his BDUs.

They both walked slowly to Sheppard's quarters as dusk was falling; neither of them saying a word or looking at each other. Ronon was aware that Sheppard had moved closer to him, and he felt a hand gently brush against his own sending jolts of pleasure right through him. When they reached the door, Ronon swiped the panel and entered the room. Sheppard turned around to Ronon with a smirk on his face, and in a voice Ronon found _very_ seductive, said "So the scrubs do it for you hey?"

Making a non-committal noise Ronon said "I could live with them", trying to hold back his own smirk. Sheppard's smirk grew to a wide grin as he walked towards Ronon, gesturing to his crotch.

"Well that little guy says otherwise".

Reaching out and pulling Sheppard towards him by the waist, he grinned mischievously. "Hey! Less of the little, Sheppard." He pulled him into a deep kiss, feeling Sheppard's grin under his own.

As Ronon began pulling at Sheppard's scrubs the kiss became harder and more urgent. A painful "pop" and the taste of blood told him that his lip had split again. Although it hurt, it felt too good kissing Sheppard to stop. He whimpered slightly as Sheppard began sucking hard on the split lip, sending Ronon into such a frenzy that his mouth snapped shut, and tasting more blood he realised he'd bitten Sheppard's lip. He felt himself sway on the spot, seeing the same red glow as the night before and feeling like his veins were on fire…then everything went black.

~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~

Feeling very much like he did when he'd been woken by Teyla ringing his doorbell, Ronon swallowed and felt his throat burn, as did his neck and to lick his sore, dry lips he found his mouth was too dry. He felt a pressure on his finger coupled with discomfort he couldn't place in the back of the same hand; and when he tried to move his leg it felt trapped beneath something.

He felt himself beginning to panic. Slowly, he opened his eyes, and shut them quickly as overly bright lights sent pains right through to the back of his eyeballs. He listened hard, trying to pick out the sounds around him. There was nothing in the immediate vicinity apart from a faint buzzing and a low beeping sound somewhere in the distance. He strained his ears and could hear hushed voices, one of them becoming more urgent.

After four attempts, he was able to open his eyes enough to take in his surroundings – he was in the Infirmary. He looked down and saw the crisp white sheets, and the white scrubs that he'd so much liked seeing Sheppard in earlier. He saw a spot of blood on the front of the scrubs – it seems his nipple had been bleeding – that explained why it was sore. He pulled his hand towards his head and felt the pressure on his finger release with a snap, and a sharp stabbing sensation in the back of his hand. A high pitched alarm began to ring somewhere next to him, the pain in his head was agonising and he cried out. He heard voices and footsteps running towards him.

"Easy now big man." came the familiar Scottish brogue, and Carson laid a hand on Ronon's shoulder to comfort him. Through his very dry throat and mouth, Ronon managed to croak.

"What's going on?"

"We were hoping you could tell us. What's the last thing you remember? Colonel Sheppard brought you in and you were..."

"Sheppard?" Ronon blurted out suddenly, causing pain to rip down his throat. He was recalling _exactly_ what he'd been doing before everything went black! "W-w-hat? W-where?" he stammered, not knowing what he should tell the doctor. He trusted Beckett implicitly, but he knew that giving him any details could land Sheppard in _serious_ trouble – "fraternisation" they called it. He could feel himself beginning to panic again; then his heart jumped when he heard Sheppard's voice.

"Doc, can I see the patient now?" Carson seemed reluctant, but let him through – from the look on the Colonel's face, it would've been a bad idea to say no. "Hey buddy" he said, sitting on the edge of the bed with a sharp intake of breath, and began gently rubbing Ronon's arm.

Following Sheppard's gaze he saw that he was half attached to a drip – the needle had pulled through the skin - which explained the stabbing sensation he'd felt in his hand.

"I was just asking Ronon what his last memory was before he blacked out." Carson said, his voice a little louder than usual.

"I already told you Doc, he was trying to get into my pants!" Sheppard sighed.

Ronon jerked up, almost knocking Sheppard off the bed. Only an exasperated noise came from his throat even though he wanted to scream "_W__hat the fuck, Sheppard?_" Sheppard stood quickly and winced again. He stood with his back to Carson, staring Ronon right in the eyes, and with a smirk on his face.

"We were following your orders Doc…you said I should get plenty of rest. Ronon was just helping me out of my scrubs and into bed." Ronon silently fumed at Sheppard, whilst desperately hoping that Carson hadn't seen the sheer panic followed by relief in his eyes. It was only then he realised that Sheppard hadn't finished speaking.

The normally strong, confident voice faltered, and it was slightly higher pitched "Then…then he collapsed in a heap, just lying there... not moving. I couldn't…" The Colonel drew in a deep breath, but it didn't hide the panic in his voice. "I didn't know what happened…I tried …you just... "

Ronon didn't know what he 'just' - Sheppard didn't finish the sentence, only sighed and looked up at the ceiling. His shoulders were tensed and Ronon saw his throat working as the Colonel swallowed deeply. Ronon had only seen him do that when he really angry, or really upset.

"Come on now lad, it's alright, he's where he needs to be right now." Carson said soothingly. "You need to let me look at that back of yours, goodness only knows what damage you've done."

Ronon felt another rise of panic. "Damage? What damage?" he croaked.

Rolling his eyes Carson explained, "The Colonel here saw it fit to _carry_ you to the Infirmary, if you can believe the idiocy?"

"Waiting for a medical team to get right across the city wasn't an option Doc; I needed to get him here quickly."

Pushing himself to a sitting position, Ronon looked deep into Sheppard's eyes "You _carried_ me?"

Shrugging as he pressed his lips together and looked away like he always did when he was embarrassed, Sheppard picked up the glass of iced water by the side of the bed and held the straw to Ronon's lips. "Here, drink." he said, his voice still sounded a little shaky.

As Ronon gratefully swallowed the water he looked deep into Sheppard's now watery eyes. Having heard the Colonel's reaction to his collapse, the Satedan couldn't help but feel a fresh surge of affection for his new lover.

TBC…


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Sat on a bed at the other end of the ward, Ronon was subjected to same poking, prodding and blood taking that Sheppard had been. Predictably Carson had made him stay in bed all the while, much to Ronon's disgust.

"One last thing while we're waiting for your test results, lad." said Carson, gesturing between Ronon's neck and chest, "Let me have a look at those wounds again."

"Again?" asked Ronon, puzzled.

"Yes big man, again. In case you hadn't noticed, you're wearing scrubs. I had to get you undressed to put them on you, and I saw you were bleeding. How long have you had that…ah…_adornment_?" To Ronon's surprise and amusement, he saw that Carson was blushing.

"Uh, a few days. Why?"

Clearing his throat, a clearly flustered Carson replied "Well I would expect it to be healing better. Where did you get this done?"

"On the mainland." Ronon shrugged, watching Carson with a puzzled expression as he looked from the Satedan's nipple down to his own hands.

Carson sighed as he picked up a swab and something that looked suspiciously like alcohol. Pouring some of the liquid onto the swab Carson said "I'm sorry Ronon, this is going to sting." As he felt the pull of the ring being lifted, Ronon winced, then cried out as the alcohol touched to tender skin. "I know big man, but it needs to be done." Carson continued in a hoarse voice, clearing his throat again. "I don't suppose whoever's responsible for this sterilised the area before they did it?"

Thinking hard Ronon replied "Honestly Doc, I can't remember."

With another sigh Carson began to swab inside the nipple ring, at which point Ronon felt a searing pain and well a warm wetness running down his chest as the wound burst open.

"_Fuck!"_ Ronon cried looking from Carson to Sheppard who again had a greedy look in his eyes as he watched Beckett apologise and begin swabbing, then dressing the wound.

"Sorry. Again." he muttered again as he made his way to the marks on Ronon's neck. Gently pushing Ronon's head to one side, Carson pushed around the tender area.

"Jesus Beckett!" Ronon roared as an unbearable heat seared through his neck, which only worsened as the swabbing started again. At this point Sheppard stepped forward.

"Does that really need to be done right now, Doc? It's only a bruise. I just got a little carried away."

"Carried away? Doing _what_ precisely, Colonel?" the exasperated Beckett asked.

Flashing a quick wink at Ronon, Sheppard looked the doctor square in the eye "Well I was concentrating more on his stick than my own, and I didn't notice what damage I'd done until it was too late."

Ronon groaned and glared at Sheppard for the obvious double entendré. Carson however appeared not to notice. He gave Sheppard what they knew to be the Scotsman's warning look. "Well next time the pair of you are sparring I suggest you're more careful. I had Lieutenant in here only this morning who had the same sort of bruises as Ronon here. It seems those sticks are more dangerous than they look."

Aware that his neck wasn't the only place Sheppard bruised, Ronon shifted uncomfortably and mumbled, "And don't I know it?"

~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~

"What do you mean you found an _anomaly_?" Sheppard asked a further four hours later as both he and Ronon we receiving their blood test results.

"It seems that you both have some kind of virus which is causing both your red _and_ white blood cells to multiply at a higher rate than normal."

"So what does that mean, and what's causing it?" Ronon butted in.

Sighing, Carson said "Well, we don't really know big man. We expect to see increased activity with the white cells, but the red as well? It's unlike anything we've seen before."

Ronon let out a low growl of frustration; he hated it when people tried to explain things because invariably they didn't lead to a straight answer. There had been occasions when Ronon had guessed that some members of the Atlantis expedition thought he was pretty stupid because he didn't get involved in the in depth conversations others did. There was no point in Ronon's mind – ask a question, get an answer, that's the way it should go. Unfortunately, some people didn't see it that way!

"All we do know" Carson continued "is that you're the thirteenth person to have these symptoms, and until we know more about what it is and how it's spread, I'm recommending to Elizabeth that all gate travel be suspended, effectively immediately. In the meantime I need some more details on exactly what you did last night."

"W-w-hat do you mean?" Ronon stuttered.

Looking between the two men, Carson look puzzled. "Well you and Colonel Sheppard were together. If I can ascertain what either of you might've eaten that matches my other patients it might give me a starting point. Even whether you swam in the same part of the ocean, maybe – anything that might help?"

"Oh, yeah. OK right." Ronon said, hoping the relief he felt wasn't reflected in his voice. "Um, we ate bread… cheese… meats... pudding – butterscotch obviously."

"_Obviously!_" repeated Carson in a mocking tone, but Ronon could tell he was only pulling his leg. "And what did you drink?"

"A couple of glasses of wine, some water. That's all I can think of."

"Hmm ok, nothing unusual sounding there." Carson said, writing the details down on his clipboard. "Just to be on the safe side I'll make sure we get samples of everything from the kitchen and have it analysed. I don't suppose you still have the bottles?"

"No!" Sheppard replied almost immediately, "Everything on the tray went back to the kitchens, sorry Doc."

"OK, not to worry Colonel. I can't see it being of much use to be honest, I just have to try and cover all the bases."

"Can I go now?" Ronon asked impatiently. "It's getting dark and I'd much rather spend the night in my quarters than here. These damn lights are giving me another headache."

Carson looked up and down his clipboard once more before saying "I see no reason to keep you here, but I want to see you again in six hours Ronon to check out your...um..." blushing again, he finished his sentence, "I want to check how that piercing is healing."

Looking now at Sheppard he said "You too Colonel."

"I'm _fine_ Doc, in fact I feel great." he smiled, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "I might even go for a run and see if I can't get rid of some of this energy I've got."

Raising his eyebrows, Carson gave Sheppard another stern look. "I want you back here even if you're not showing any symptoms now. You know I'll have Elizabeth make it an order if I have to!"

"Hello? Can we go?" Ronon asked again while he all but jumped off the bed. Neither him nor the Colonel waited for the answer before they left the Infirmary as quickly as possible.

TBC…


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Please note that because of access issues to this site, this story is usually updated on my LiveJournal page first. My username is j_r_hartley.

_**When The Night Comes - Chapter 10**_

Having extra time on their hands with gate travel suspended, the team had had been spending more and more time apart. Rodney had been working on "Something so scientifically brilliant that it could change time and space as we know it!", to which Ronon merely shrugged and said "Good for you!"

Just before the quarantine, Melissa, Teyla's friend from the mainland, had come to Atlantis with a fresh crop of tava beans; and unable to return she was spending most of her time in Teyla's company.

Carson had been kept busy with the steady flow of patients suffering with the same symptoms both Ronon and Sheppard shown. This included most of Lorne's team, and half of the marines on the base; so they had seen little of the doctor either.

When Ronon wasn't with Sheppard, he had been spending more time with Lorne, who in the absence of the rest of his team, had often been in the shooting range and the gym at the same time as Ronon.

The first few times they sparred Ronon had gone easy on him, trying to get a handle on the style and skills of Sheppard's XO; and was quite impressed. Lorne didn't look as strong or agile as he was, and although he was no real match for the Satedan, he had certainly given him a run for his money, pinning him to the floor more times than Ronon would care to admit.

"I seem to spend half of my life in here these days." Ronon sighed looking around the commissary, after another long day. "I'm bored. What the hell are you doing all day, Sheppard? We've hardly spent more than a couple of hours a day together in two weeks."

Shrugging, Sheppard replied "Got no excuse not to catch up on paperwork now we're on lockdown. Weir's coming down on my ass like a ton of bricks." Leaning across the table, Sheppard smirked at him "I know it's not ideal buddy, but you can't say I haven't been making it up to you. We always manage to be full of energy when it comes to our nights together!"

A goofy grin spread across Ronon's face and he chuckled. Sheppard certainly had been _making it up to him_, and he had the cuts and bruises to prove it. Despite Ronon's protests, it was always Sheppard who took the lead, something Ronon never thought would happen. In his head it would be him that took charge, but there was just something so incredibly sexy about Sheppard wanting to do everything he possibly could to satisfy the bigger man, regardless of how hard he had to work to do it.

Their antics had become increasingly rough, and only the aches in his muscles from sparring took away to the tenderness of those cuts and bruises. Ronon never would've guess that being literally manhandled was actually pretty hot; but he was just as rough with Sheppard when he got the chance. Some nights it had gotten to the point where he didn't mind the pain so much, because Sheppard had a way of kissing the pain away that felt exquisite. He managed to give Ronon the feeling that he was floating with each touch of his lips, feeling every inch of his body being worshipped by that hot, luscious mouth.

Ronon could feel his pulse racing and he was getting hard at the thought of it – or even just the thought of being close to Sheppard, and how they didn't seem to be able to be near each other and _not_ want to rip each other's clothes off. If he thought about it, Ronon decided it was actually a bit scary how badly they wanted each other, now that they'd finally started down this route. It was like they were addicted to each other, and whilst being apart sometimes felt like it physically hurt, when they did get together, it was so passionate that they forgot all about the pain of being separated.

He was drawn out of his daydreaming by a voice saying his name.

"Hey Ronon! Good evening Colonel."

Looking up, he saw Lorne standing at their table. "Oh, hi!", Ronon said with a smile, and gestured to a chair. "Do you…do you want to join us?"

Smiling widely Lorne said "Oh no, I'm off to meet Zelenka. We're developing a strategy to try and find what McKay's up to. I just wanted to say hi, but thanks for the offer. See you in the gym tomorrow?"

"Sure thing Major!" the Satedan grinned. He looked forward to the new challenges Lorne set for him – it was always good to fight against different styles.

Ronon turned back to Sheppard who had smirk on his face, and an eyebrow raised in Lorne's direction. "You two are becoming very friendly these days." he said teasingly. "It's a good job I'm not they jealous type!"

"Very funny Sheppard!" Ronon replied sarcastically. He noticed that the Colonel's smirk had faded somewhat, and a frown was beginning to form. He looked almost offended by his own jealousy comment. The Satedan brushed it aside and carried on speaking. "He's pretty good you know, more capable than you'd think. You should have him training more with the Marines, he could really put them through their paces. Plus with him around, I've got to have something to occupy me while you're on that toplap all day."

Sheppard laughed as he rose from the table, "Number one, it's _laptop_!" He paused and looked over at Lorne and Zelenka who were hunched over their table conspiring away with lots of laughing and hand gestures, "And number two, Lorne's pretty damn hot. I'd count yourself lucky throwing him around all day!"

Slightly affronted, Ronon called after him "Wait! What's that supposed to mean?"

Sheppard's reply was a laugh as he went out of the door.

"Oh screw you!" he mumbled to the empty chair. He felt suddenly angry that Sheppard had made the observation that Lorne was hot. Sheppard was _his_ damn it, and Ronon wasn't the kind of man to share. He growled low in his throat, and tried to quell the urge to grab the Colonel and remind him that he was with Ronon, and didn't need to be looking at anyone else. That's a conversation they would definitely be having very soon!

TBC…


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Please note that because of access issues to this site, this story is usually updated on my LiveJournal page first. My username there is j_r_hartley.

_**When The Night Comes - Chapter 11**_

"How many more planets do we have to go to Sheppard?" Ronon's tired and bored voice asked. "It's been almost four months and nothing's changing. It's the same thing everywhere we go – fever, headaches, blackouts, nausea, loss of appetite, irregular sleeping patterns. The bursts of excess energy after that are a bit strange, yeah, but it's bad for two or three weeks, then gets easier, and eventually fades. Nearly everyone's back to normal in a month or so! It messes with you, then goes away - Beckett said that's what viruses _do_."

With a deep sigh Sheppard replied, "I'm not too happy about this either but Elizabeth has a point. There's too many of our trading partners with the same symptoms for it to be coincidence, so until we have a better idea what we're dealing with, we carry on visiting planets until we find some information that can help us."

Ronon tried to stay calm but ended up raising his voice louder than he'd indented to. "But that's just it – we're not the _only_ ones looking, Sheppard. Most of our trading partners are too. They know what the situation is, they know how many people have been infected – they'll let us know when they find something out."

"That's enough, Ronon!" Sheppard snarled. "We can't just sit by and let other people do the work. We know that some of the villages affected are still having new outbreaks, so it could be gone in as little as month, _or_ it could be something longer term – permanent, even. For all we know, we've not seen the worst of it yet! Just because most of Atlantis' outbreak seems to have cleared up, doesn't mean we can take it for granted. We need to find out what's going on, and that's the end of it."

Ronon let out a frustrated growl. "But no-one's _seriously_ ill, no-one's _died_. There are better things we could be doing with our time! There's still a galaxy full of Wraith that need killing, and - "

At this Sheppard stopped walking and looked Ronon dead in the eye with that sexy one-sided smirk and turning his head slightly to check Rodney and Teyla were still some distance away. "And? And what exactly?"

Moving as close to Sheppard as he dared with Rodney and Teyla only a few feet away, Ronon lowered his head and huskily whispered into the Colonel's ear. "Like me lying you down and kissing you all over…licking you all over." He heard Sheppard swallow and watched as he licked his lips. He could see and hear Sheppard's breathing quicken as the smirk changed to look of pure, unadulterated lust. He felt a flood of heat through his body, and his dick gave a quick twitch, very much liking the sight of Sheppard right now. If he had a mirror, the Satedan was sure he would see the same dilated pupils, flushed cheeks and swollen lips as his CO.

"Uh huh, and what else?"

Thinking for a moment Ronon replied, "You on your knees. With… with your hands behind your back. Asking… no, _begging_ to be allowed to suck me." He knew he was panting, as his breath and heartbeat got faster and faster.

Sheppard's brow wrinkled as he closed his eyes and groaned; and a satisfied grin spread across the Satedan's face.

The Colonel was so easy to distract these days, his libido seemed to know no bounds. Though they'd both lost their appetite for food for a while, their appetite for one another more than made up for it. Ronon had never had so much sex in his life as he had with Sheppard these last few months. He'd expected things to calm down a bit after the first few weeks, but neither of them showed any signs of that. The more they had, the more they wanted – it was amazing that no-one on Atlantis had picked up on it, especially with the number of late night 'sparring sessions' in the gym, which left them both bloodied and bruised for reasons entirely unrelated to any weapon.

"Bastard" Sheppard spat, discretely moving his P-90 over his crotch as the rest of the team caught up to them.

"What's going on? Are we done?" McKay asked.

Still grinning, Ronon replied, "Oh nothing much…just making plans for when we get back to Atlantis."

He watched as Sheppard increased his pace, shouting back to them, "Come on guys, let's do this so we can home ASAP. Some of us have things to get back for!"

~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~

Several long, hot and fruitless hours later, the team returned to Atlantis.

By the time they got back, Ronon was ready to sleep on the spot. Although he still didn't feel 100%, most of his symptoms with the exception of some lethargy and the odd headache, had gone. Carson said that was only to be expected after suffering so many other symptoms over the last week weeks. It would take time to get back to perfect health, and Ronon wasn't a patient man. Sleep wasn't at option though, so he trailed behind the rest of the team to into the briefing room for another session of "We have nothing to report".

As the sun poured into the room, Ronon got fidgety. It was hot and stuffy, and it was making him more tired and grumpy. He half listened to the conversation, knowing it would be very little different to the last fifty they'd had. Everyone around the table was as frustrated as each other, and Ronon was growing weary of going through the motions. It was an attempt to keep everyone positive, but the longer the mystery went on, the more they all knew it was a sham.

Again, Dr. Weir advised the room that every SG team they had were out looking for a link in the cases, as were most of their trading partners. Only a handful of villages were unaffected by the sickness, and they all claimed to have no knowledge of what might be the cause. None of them said they wanted to temporarily cease trading, when Elizabeth asked them directly, for which she was very grateful. When word spread to the other villages, those who had had concerns about trading with the high profile city with many afflicted, they were soon happy to carry on as if nothing had happened.

Carson and his team were run ragged, yet they couldn't come up with any possible explanation. He too gave his report in a voice that was trying to be upbeat, but failing miserably. "I can't find any reference to anything remotely similar in the Ancient database. None of the medical personnel in any of the villages have heard of anything quite like it; and even the Athosians' contacts are drawing a blank. I just don't know what the link could possibly be."

His voice had grown steadily more distressed as he spoke, and Ronon reached across and patted him on the back, "It's OK Doc, you'll find it…whatever "it" is, I know you will."

Carson sighed, "Thanks for the vote of confidence big man, I just don't know what to do next. All we can do is keep looking. There has to be a connection somewhere, and I'm going to bloody well find it if it's the last thing I do!"

Ronon had no doubt whatsoever about that Carson would find the answer. He just hoped it would be soon.

TBC…


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Please note that because of access issues to this site, this story is usually updated on my LiveJournal page first. My username there is j_r_hartley.

_**When the night comes - chapter 12**_

"Nice landing" Ronon said as the jumper touched down by the lakeside on P3M-478 a month later.

"Thanks" Sheppard replied with a smug grin on his face. For most of the time they'd spent flying over the planet, the Jumper had been on auto-pilot; something they didn't know it could do until Ronon had swung Sheppard round in the chair and began kissing him soon after they'd left the Jumper bay. After a slight wobble, the Jumper had righted itself and headed towards the co-ordinates McKay had given them. Sheppard had broken away for a few seconds to make sure they didn't land in the water. They left the Jumper and set off towards a small forest dead ahead of them.

"So do we explore now, or… later?" Ronon asked raising an eyebrow suggestively.

With a sigh, Sheppard set off towards the forest. "Better do it now and get it over with, then we can do anything we like after that."

A mischievous grin spread across Ronon's face "_Anything_, anything?"

"Yep!" Sheppard replied.

"Sounds like fun!" chirruped the bigger man, increasing his pace, "Let's get on with it!"

~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~

An hour later, their investigation proving less than productive, they went back to the Jumper and placed the scanning equipment, soil, bark and water samples in the cases McKay had given them.

"I still don't know how you talked him and a team of botanists out of checking this place out." Ronon mused as they drained a bottle of water each.

"With my wit, charm and good looks." Sheppard replied without hesitation.

Spraying the half swallowed mouthful of water all over his front, Ronon laughed out loud. "Yeah, right!"

"OK, OK…I promised McKay he could have his pick of side projects for a month if he let us come alone. It didn't hurt that I reminded him of the fifty pound rubber suit and sunscreen he'd need, like he had to wear on P3M-736 where we met you. It was an easy decision for him after that!"

~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~

They walked for a good five minutes before Sheppard stopped. "Set it down over by that big rock, it'll give us some shade. These suns are way too bright, they're giving me a headache."

"Another one?" Ronon asked, the concern clear in his voice. "That's the fifth one this week. You're sleeping a lot again, and not eating like you normally do. You should go and see Beckett again, it sounds like a relapse to me."

"It's the fourth, and I'm _fine_. Thanks for your concern, but I give the orders around here, _not you_!" Obviously aware that he'd been snappy, Sheppard softened his tone as he continued. "The ground looks a bit hard, it can't be very comfortable. Let's go over there by the trees. It's got more shade and it's closer to the lake, too."

Ronon shrugged, following the Colonel to his chosen spot and unfolding the blankets they'd brought. He sat and watched Sheppard as he started to remove the contents of the makeshift picnic basket. He had to admit that the blush that spread across Sheppard's cheeks when he arrived with the food, made Ronon smile. If you asked anyone on Atlantis who the most unlikely people for a picnic were, odds were that Ronon and Sheppard would top that list. Still, they had to eat, so with very manly clearing of throats, they packed it into the Jumper and set off!

"What are you looking at?" Sheppard asked, visibly trying to hide his smirk, knowing full well he was being watched. Ronon leaned back against the nearest tree, and locked his hands behind his head.

"Just enjoying the view." he said with a smile. He couldn't help but sweep his eyes over the man crouched just a few feet away. He was still unsure about what they were doing – this _relationship_ - and still thought that it was a big risk they were taking; but just being with Sheppard made his heart beat faster these days, so deep down, he knew it couldn't be that wrong.

"Easy tiger, I'm hungry and I get the feeling I'm going to need to keep my strength up."

"Damn right!" the Satedan rumbled, reaching for a sandwich. Sheppard rolled his eyes, and again reached into the basket. Ronon groaned as he recognised the bottle of wine brought back from P3M-499.

"Aww come on buddy, it's not _that_ bad" Sheppard laughed as he poured them a cup each. "It's up to you, we don't have to drink it, but it's pretty much all we've got now. Since the trading has slowed down, we can't exactly be picky about what we get our hands on."

"I can't believe some of the villages changed their minds so quickly about trading with us." Ronon said with a sigh. "Only a couple of weeks after they said it was fine to carry on."

"But that was before some of their people got sick, it's an understandable reaction." Sheppard shrugged. "We still have enough supplies for a couple of months yet, so we're not in immediate danger of running out, so let's just have our time together before we have to go back to all the stress."

Now it was Ronon's turn to shrug. "Yeah, I guess." He couldn't help but worry though. No matter how he tried to hide it, it was clear that Sheppard wasn't well again. Granted, it was no way near as bad as when they first became ill, but the last week, something was off again.

"So?" Sheppard asked impatiently, waving the cup and a bottle of water in Ronon's direction. "Wine or water?"

Begrudgingly he held his hand out for some wine. "Bums up!" he said as he raised the cup to Sheppard, then took a deep drink.

Sheppard burst out laughing, "Uh, buddy…it's _bottoms_ up!"

"Oh, whatever! Stupid Earth sayings." he mumbled before draining the cup and shuddering.

"Hey, go easy on that" Sheppard protested, "It's strong stuff and this is the last bottle I have, so…" pausing and clearing his throat, "So we'd better make it last as long as we can." Ronon couldn't help but notice that Sheppard sounded – for want of a better word - _distant_ as he finished the sentence.

They ate in near silence, both men obviously hungrier than they thought. Ronon felt some of his concern for Sheppard's health ebb away as he watched the smaller man devouring sandwich after sandwich; and allowed himself to relax a little.

Surprised at how easily the alcohol went down after a while, he began to wonder why he'd not liked it in the first place. Sheppard was right - it was all they had, so he had to make do until they could get some decent ale. There was still an odd aftertaste, but after the second cup he was starting to enjoy the woozy feeling it was giving him. At the same time, he was feeling hyper, like he'd had too much coffee. Despite the lightheadedness, it gave him a pleasant buzz, and with the food inside him, he had a fresh surge of energy.

He looked around them, at the trees, the lake and the plants on it's edge, taking it the beauty of it. He hadn't noticed earlier how many different shades of green leaves there were on the trees, nor the clearness of the water. The fading suns were also casting an early evening red glow over everything. This was nice, being here with Sheppard, just enjoying each other's company in calm surroundings.

Lost in his thoughts of how many ways they could legitimately be alone together away from Atlantis, he was startled when Sheppard's shadow swept over him. Looking up he saw that the Colonel had stripped down to only his boxers. "Subtle!" he chuckled.

The Colonel was already halfway to the edge of the lake before shouting "Clothes off, we're going for a swim!"

He really didn't feel like moving, but maybe a swim would be a good thing. It would refresh him before they had to leave to head back to Atlantis. His stubborn side didn't want to let that show though. He thought back to one of his early missions with team, he playfully asked, "Is that an order, Sheppard?"

A light dawned in Sheppard's eyes, and a grin spread across his face before saying "If you need it to be, yeah that's an order."

TBC…


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Please note that because of access issues to this site, this story is usually updated on my LiveJournal page first. My username there is j_r_hartley.

**~ . ~ . ~**

**When the night comes - chapter 13**

The water was warmer than Ronon had anticipated as he strode waist deep into the lake, the powerful heat of the planet's two suns obviously reached the shaded areas. It seemed McKay had been right in his advice to wait until very late afternoon to early evening to investigate the planet - the daytime heat would have been far too much.

Just lately Ronon had hated the feeling he got when he spent too long in the sun. It was almost stifling, and never failed to make him tired, which in turn made him very grumpy. OK, more grumpy! During the downtime between hunting for the cause of the virus that was gripping so many, he found he much preferred the evening temperature.

He and Sheppard spent a fair amount of time out on the East pier at night, when it was cool, and the air less heavy. Sheppard was also very taken with the way the moonlight caught Ronon's features – those nights always ended in them wrapped around each other, exploring one another's bodies. It always made Ronon think of their first night together; and those nights were undoubtedly their most intense times.

When Ronon came back to the present, Sheppard was already some distance away in the water, and the Satedan made full use of his long, muscular legs to catch him up. As soon as he was level with him he grabbed the Colonel by the waist and drew him closer for a kiss which was slow and deep, and sent shivers down Ronon's spine. Kissing Sheppard never got old. It was the most relaxing, and at the same time, the most erotic feeling that Ronon had ever had. They broke apart only when they began to sink, and their chins touched the water.

Laughing and swimming a few feet away, Sheppard called, "You're like a horny teenager, you know that?"

Ronon grinned and nodded towards the Colonel said, "You're not doing too bad yourself, Sheppard!". He watched as Sheppard's eyes swept over his face, shoulders and chest.

"Have you _seen _yourself? It's hard not to be!"

Ronon felt his heart dancing in his chest. He was sure that there was more than lust in Sheppard's eyes, and he couldn't help himself from grinning even more broadly.

He watched as Sheppard began to swim further away. "You ever play kiss chase as a kid?" he called.

"Play what?"

"It's a game kids play back home. You chase each other and when you get caught, you get a kiss." Lying back in the water, Sheppard looked at him with a mischievous grin, "Wanna play?"

Without hesitation Ronon set off towards him. Sheppard playfully swam in different directions, until Ronon caught his arm easily. "Not much of a challenge if you let yourself get caught!" he chuckled as he leaned in and kissed him again.

"Where's the fun if you don't get caught?" Sheppard said with a wink.

Shaking his head and smiling, Ronon said "OK, my turn."

Turning to swim away he heard a startled cry from Sheppard and looked back to see a look of pain on the Colonel's face. "What's wrong?"

"_Shit!_ I think I've cut myself on some damn plant in the water. It's OK, don't worry."

Ronon gave Sheppard a look that clearly said 'I do worry'. Sheppard hooked his arm around Ronon's neck and lifted his leg out of the water. On his inner thigh was a cut that blood was slowly trickling from it, turning the water around it pink.

"Damn it Sheppard, we better get that looked at, it could be nasty."

"It's fine Ronon, no big deal." He shifted himself in front of Ronon and pulled him closer, holding the bigger man's face in his hands. "It's fine, I promise."

Ronon wasn't convinced but forgot all about it when Sheppard kissed his neck and squeezed Ronon's ass with his free hand. Pulling away, and leaving Ronon wanting much more, Sheppard swam off calling, "No chase, no kiss!"

~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~

Ronon lost count of how many times they'd caught each other. They were both tired – and looked it – so they headed back to dry land without a word. Sheppard flopped onto his back on the blanket. Catching his breath, Ronon watched the panting figure beside him. He watched the rise and fall of his chest, down to his stomach, and as his eyes travelled over the rest of Sheppard's body, he couldn't help but notice the wet shorts clinging to the Colonel's crotch. Ronon leaned in to kiss him, and gently lowered his weight onto the smaller man.

He'd anticipated that Sheppard would try and fight him, and he was right. As he felt the Colonel try and sit up, he anchored his knees around Sheppard's hips and put a hand on his chest. "Not this time Sheppard, I'm running things for once!" he said, a little more forcefully than he'd planned.

Sheppard looked slightly wary, but nodded. "Only if it's what you want, Ronon."

"Oh I want to!" he chuckled, tracing his finger down Sheppard's ribcage. For a moment Sheppard looked like he was going to say something else, but when Ronon's hand moved lower and he said, "I _really_ want to!" the Colonel's eyes flashed with what looked like relief, then pure desire. He let out a low moan, and Ronon felt Sheppard's whole body relax underneath him.

Ronon again thought back to the night they had first been together, and he had that feeling of excitement and fear all over again. This was another first for them, something he needed to take his time with. His fingers were almost trembling as he gently swept them under the waistband of Sheppard's soaked boxers and began running his finger over the coarse, dark hair and following it upwards to Sheppard's stomach and chest. He didn't take his eyes from Sheppard's, and watched as the Colonel's brow furrowed slightly as he half closed his eyes and sighed.

Thoughts of everything he wanted to do to Sheppard swam in his mind. He wanted to make the Colonel feel the same bliss he himself had felt these past months. Slightly worried he might not be able to satisfy Sheppard in the same way; he pushed the thoughts aside and gave the Colonel his full attention. He'd never done this before, and wanted to make it as perfect as he could, after all Sheppard had given him everything he could've wished for, and whatever he'd asked for as well. Except this – this was something Ronon had wanted, but the time didn't feel right to ask, so he'd decided to wait for when it was – and it seemed that time was now.

He leant to gently trace the firm chest in front of him with his tongue, flicking over Sheppard's nipple, causing both men to moan quietly. As he turned his attention to the other, Ronon smiled to himself before taking both the nipple and the nipple ring in his mouth. He gently sucked on it enough to raise the ring onto his tongue, and felt the metal pull against the taut skin. He ran his tongue under the ring and flicked it quickly, drawing a deeper groan of pleasure from Sheppard. He knew for himself how sensitive and sensual it was.

He moved his hand and tongue down Sheppard's stomach, he pulled down the waistband of his boxers and kissed and nuzzled, taking in Sheppard's scent. Tugging the shorts off, he felt Sheppard's hands in his hair, and looked up at him. The face that had been so pale was now flushed, and on seeing how swollen Sheppard's lips were, Ronon just had to kiss them again. They were hot and soft, and it pained Ronon to pull away from them, but he wanted to turn his attention elsewhere.

Again, he traced his tongue down Sheppard's stomach and to down to what he wanted right now. Slowly, he licked the full length of Sheppard's cock, swirling his tongue around it, before finally sliding it into his mouth. The bucking of Sheppard's hips drove it further into his mouth, and again, both men moaned. After finding a rhythm that suited them both, Ronon raised and lowered his head around his mouthful, relishing in every curve and bump he could feel under his lips and tongue. He kept a steady pressure on Sheppard's hip with one hand, and with the other, he gently but firmly squeezed and rolled Sheppard's balls in his palm. Totally caught up in the pleasure of what he was doing, Ronon vaguely heard Sheppard shouting his name before he felt the swell and heat of him coming; his heart beating in time with Sheppard's throbbing.

TBC…


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: Please note that because of access issues to this site, this story is usually updated on my LiveJournal page first. My username there is j_r_hartley.

~ . ~ . ~

Chapter notes: A/N: OK here you go with the smut. I'm still not happy with it, the same as I wasn't with the first sex scene, but here it is. I should warn you that it gets a bit dark and/or kinky here, depending on your outlook. Let me know what you think!

_**When the night comes - chapter 14**_

Ronon stayed where he was until they both got their breath back. He started to sit up but on seeing the already healing cut on Sheppard's inner thigh, he lowered his head and ran his tongue over it. He didn't know why he wanted to do it, he just did. He felt Sheppard's shudder and did it again, this time more slowly, hearing Sheppard wince as he did it.

Startled, Ronon looked up at him "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you".

Sheppard's face was contorted, and for a few seconds Ronon couldn't tell whether it was pain or pleasure. "Don't stop." Sheppard panted, eyes burning into Ronon with their longing.

Raising an eyebrow, he murmured "Kinky!" as he manoeuvred himself between Sheppard's legs. He felt, as well as heard the Colonel's laugh become a cry as he suckled on the cut. Wondering how long he should do this for, Ronon was suddenly struck with the realisation of how hard he had become. It was almost painful. He felt Sheppard move and looking up he saw that the Colonel was reaching into his BDUs and pulling out a small pack of condoms. Grabbing the pack and quickly putting one on, Ronon barely broke eye contact with Sheppard. They were both getting desperate, and Ronon knew this could get out of hand if they weren't careful. Panting, he said "Gotta calm down or I'll hurt you."

Sheppard shook his head, "You won't." He pushed Ronon down into a sitting position and straddled his hips, wrapping his arms around the Satedan's neck and kissing him hard. As he kissed back, Ronon almost bit his own tongue when he felt Sheppard over him, feeling his dick slide between the hot cheeks.

"No, wait! We -" he panted even harder, fighting against the urge to push up and impale Sheppard there and then. "Lube…need lube. Not gonna hurt you."

The Colonel almost growled in frustration. "It doesn't matter, Ronon, _fuck_ just do it!"

It took every ounce of self control he had to push Sheppard off him. He looked into his lover's eyes, his voice a harsh whisper. "It _does_ matter. We need something to smooth the way, or I'm not doing this."

Sheppard looked genuinely shocked. "Shit! I didn't … I didn't think to bring anything. You don't usually need much prep these days, so I didn't… shit, I don't think there's anything we can use." He looked distraught. Ronon quickly began rummaging through the leftover picnic basket, swearing before moving to the backpack they had. He pulled out the contents, sending power bars flying in every direction, until he pulled out the first aid kit. He dropped his head and shoulders dejectedly as he realised that there was nothing they could use in their, either – this wasn't going to happen tonight.

He heard movement and Sheppard's heavy breathing behind him. "Ronon?"

"There's nothing. We'll have to wait until we get back."

Sheppard crouched in front of Ronon. He sighed deeply before speaking. "OK, we'll wait if it's what you really want. I just thought you didn't… you should've said earlier that this is what you wanted."

Ronon cupped Sheppard's face in both of his hands. "I wasn't sure it was what _you_ wanted. You've never mentioned it, either."

"Well aren't we a pair of idiots?"

"Looks that way." Ronon whispered before kneeling up and leaning in to kiss Sheppard again. The kiss soon became deeper, each man's tongue battling for dominance. He pulled away from the Colonel again, breathless. He felt again like he was floating, and at the same time, like he was going to implode if he didn't have Sheppard right the fuck now. "We should head back. If we don't stop now, I don't know if I can."

Sheppard's reply to was kiss Ronon again, hard and passionate. In their kneeling position, Sheppard was able to bring Ronon closer by tightening his arms around him, and hooking a leg around him. As soon as Sheppard's inner thigh touched the back of Ronon's, the Colonel all but jumped back as if stung. "_Son of a bitch!_" His fingers were scrabbling over the cut there, which was now bleeding freely. "Damn thing must've been deeper than I thought. Hand me some of that gauze."

Ronon felt around him blindly for it. He was unable to take his eyes off the wound. Blood was slowly but steadily trickling down Sheppard's inner thigh, the direction of the shiny, thick liquid changing as the Colonel sat on the blanket, opening his legs wider to press the wedge of gauze onto it. Before he could do it though, Ronon grabbed his wrist. "Don't." he croaked.

He released his grip on Sheppard's wrist in favour of pressing his fingers over the wound, sweeping up some of the blood onto his fingers. He brought them up closer to his face, rubbing his thumb over his fingertips, through the slick wetness. He felt his face flush, though whether or not it was embarrassment or arousal, he wasn't too sure. He lifted his eyes to Sheppard, who was looking confused, then a moment later, clearly aroused. "This is fucked up!" Ronon whispered. Sheppard's response was a heated look that left little room for doubt. He wasn't disagreeing, but from the way his cock was rapidly filling again, he didn't care.

Guiding Sheppard down onto the blanket, so he was lay on his back, Ronon bent his leg at the knee, watching with a kind of sick fascination at the blood starting to thicken. The flow had slowed significantly - in the back of his mind, Ronon noted that this was good thing because it meant that the wound wasn't a bad one. Even so, he wrapped his hand around Sheppard's thigh and squeezed the flesh, causing more blood to trickle out. Sheppard hissed, and then groaned as Ronon ran his thumb the full length of the gash. Gathering more on his fingers, he spread Sheppard's legs wider and circled his hole.

He looked up into Sheppard's eyes, "Are you sure? We don't know if this will be enough."

The Colonel surged up to grab Ronon's dreadlocks and drag him into another hard, almost violent kiss. "Do it, _please_." he begged.

The kiss made Ronon dizzy again, and as he drew back from it, he gently pushed until his finger was fully inside Sheppard. They both inhaled sharply - Ronon knew what that initial sting was like. Like the Colonel had done for Ronon's first time, he leaned forward and took Sheppard's leaking cock into his mouth, while slowly pumping his finger in and out, gradually adding a second, then a third. He was struck by how hot and hard Sheppard was. It's not like Ronon hadn't sucked Sheppard many times before, but this was totally different. Lost in the sensations he was feeling, he finally realised Sheppard was talking.

"Ronon. More, please. I want you so much. _Please_."

With a feral grin, Ronon replied, "I could get used to hearing you beg, Sheppard. In fact, I'm gonna make sure you do it more often."

The Colonel was already panting hard, his chest covered in sweat, as was Ronon's. Making sure he gathered more blood to slick the way, he ran it over his own hot and startlingly hard dick, hissing at the touch. He was already so close from this, he just hoped he could last once he was inside Sheppard's tight heat.

He calmed himself a little, by resting his elbows either side of Sheppard's head, pressing their chests together, and kissing him deeply again. He felt the man below him spread his legs, and the invitation was obvious. Ronon shifted his hips, and raised Sheppard's leg higher so that he had room to slide into him. When he did, he wasn't sure which of them groaned loudest.

After a couple of thrusts, he leaned down for another kiss, linking his fingers with Sheppard's and holding them tight. They moved against each other, grunts and almost animalistic growls spilling from both of their lips. As he felt Sheppard wrap his legs around his waist, drawing him in deeper, the Satedan lost all sense of control. It was like a heat that flared inside him, and he couldn't get enough. He gave in to the urge to start pounding into Sheppard relentlessly, and wondered if this sheer _need_ was what it felt like for the Colonel the first time he was inside Ronon.

He opened his eyes and looked down at Sheppard who was drenched in sweat, his head thrashing from side to side and whimpering Ronon's name. He thrust harder, claiming Sheppard as his, and he felt the Colonel tighten around him, shooting untouched, hot and sticky all over both of them. Only seconds later he gave in to his own climax, as each cried out and came powerfully hard.

Moments later, Ronon slipped from Sheppard's body and wrapped an arm around his waist. He tightened his grip, wanting the feeling to last, not willing to let Sheppard go. They were both sweaty, sticky and gross, but he didn't care.

The Colonel's voice was raspy when he eventually spoke. "That was amazing!"

Ronon hummed in agreement, too tired to string words together straight away.

~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~

The warm evening breeze reached them even in the trees just inside the forest. It slowly and gently dried their skin, as they lay on the blankets in a tangle of limbs. Ronon couldn't remember a time when he'd felt so relaxed, so satisfied, so _happy_. He couldn't bring himself to think about the Wraith, about all the lives that were in danger across the galaxy whilst they were still out there.

All he could focus on at the moment was being here with Sheppard. Just talking like they used to seemed different – better - now. They'd made a new connection, and their friendship had deepened, as well as their feelings for each other. As he lazily traced a pattern over Sheppard's hip, he realised he needed to ask the question that had been in buzzing in his mind.

"Why now?"

"What do you mean?" Sheppard replied, tensing a little.

"Us. This. Why now? Why didn't you make your move before?"

Shrugging, the Colonel replied, "I guess it just felt right now, that's all."

There was nothing Ronon felt he needed to respond to at that – for the time being anyway. Enjoying the combined feeling of the breeze and Sheppard's weight pressed against him, he succumbed to that faint red glow being cast over everything, and fell asleep.

TBC


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: Please note that because of access issues to this site, this story is usually updated on my LiveJournal page first. My username there is j_r_hartley.

~ . ~ . ~

**When the nigh comes - chapter 15**

Ronon jerked awake quickly when he heard a rustling in the trees. His heart was beating out of his chest – _again_ he'd let his guard down. He gently but quickly shook Sheppard to wake him, holding his finger to his lips in the universal sign for silence. The rustling came closer, and Ronon immediately looked around for his gun, panic beginning to set in when he realised it was too far away to reach without standing and giving away their position.

Unexpectedly, a voice called out, "Colonel Sheppard? Ronon?"

The two men looked at each other - a cross between confusion and panic on their faces as they recognised the voice.

Sheppard tentatively called out, "Uh, Major Lorne, is that _you_?"

Footsteps became closer still and Ronon was suddenly blinded by a bright light. He brought his hand up to shield his eyes, the footsteps came to an immediate stop and the light was lowered. Now able to see, Ronon saw the shocked form of Atlantis's XO as he took in the sight before him. Ronon looked down at himself and Sheppard, realising they were both still totally naked.

Lorne quickly mumbled apologies, and something about heading back to the Jumper to wait for them.

"Shit!" roared Sheppard as he scrambled to his feet and began pulling on his clothes. His struggles with his clothing were punctuated with more profanities, and despite the seriously compromising position they had just found themselves in, Ronon couldn't help but laugh. "This is _not_ funny Ronon" the Colonel snapped. "Elizabeth is going to have my balls on a plate. And Caldwell, _oh __shit_, Caldwell's going to… hell I don't know what he's going to do! MOVE, let's go."

As they gathered their belongings, Ronon still couldn't help but chuckle.

"_What the __fuck_ is so funny, Ronon? Do you have _any_ idea what the consequences of this are?" Sheppard was becoming more exasperated by the second.

"Sorry!" the younger man said, "But you just look so damn sexy when you're flustered."

In spite of himself, Sheppard shook his head and flashed Ronon a sexy smile.

~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~

As they approached the lakeside where they'd left the Jumper, Lorne and Carson were waiting in the back of their own Jumper. Lorne immediately jumped to his feet when he saw his CO approaching. Ronon shifted his weight from one foot to the other and cupped his hand around his gun while Sheppard and his XO stood not quite looking at each other. Eventually Sheppard spoke.

"Major, I think it would be best if I ride with you back to Atlantis. Fill you in on…our..._findings._"

"Yes Sir." Lorne said, and turned to take his place at the Jumper's dashboard.

Ronon looked at Sheppard, not sure what to make of what was happening. "Why can't we all go back in the Jumpers we came in?" He was desperate to know what they were going to do about their situation.

"Ronon, just go with Dr. Beckett, and we'll debrief when we get back to Atlantis." He was totally confused now, "But…"

Sternly, Sheppard said "Ronon, go with Beckett."

~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~

Very little had been said during the mission debrief, much to Dr. Weir's frustration. After Sheppard making it very clear that there was little on P3M-478 that would help them in their fight against the virus or the Wraith, he rose from the conference table, asking "Are we done?"

She nodded before adding "We'll talk about this later, John."

~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~

An hour after the debrief ended, Sheppard finally arrived back at his quarters where Ronon was waiting for him. "Well?" he barked before Sheppard had even closed the doors. He listened impatiently as Sheppard explained that when they were two hours late for their scheduled check in, Atlantis radioed them, but got no response. They were concerned - clearly Ronon wasn't the only one who'd noticed Sheppard's deteriorating health.

Doctor Weir had insisted that someone else went to the planet in case there was some kind of problem. Not wanting to risk any more cases, she had sent Major Lorne and Dr. Beckett to investigate as they showed no symptoms. Using a lifesigns detector they had pinpointed the men's location to the edge of the forest, and made their way to find them.

"And we know _what_ they found!" Ronon snorted. "I don't care _why_ they were there Sheppard, is Lorne going to say anything? And did Beckett see anything?"

Dropping down on the bed and rubbing his eyes against the morning sun, Sheppard leaned in towards Ronon and with a sigh, simply said "No, to both".

"How can you be sure? What happened in the jumper?" He watched as Sheppard rose from the bed towards the bathroom, stripping down to his boxers as he went. Sheppard's voice echoed slightly as he answered Ronon's question.

"It wasn't exactly an easy conversation. I just told the Major that with the heat of the suns, we'd gone for a swim and then must've fallen asleep afterwards."

Puzzled, Ronon made his way to the bathroom, where Sheppard was splashing water on his face. "A _naked _swim, yeah right! So how does that mean he's not going to say anything?"

"He said that I didn't need to explain anything to him, and made it clear that he wasn't asking me to. It's an awkward enough situation as it is, and with being in Pegasus, some of the rules are slightly more relaxed, albeit _unofficially_. We all appreciate that, so Lorne and I both thought it best if that was an end to it."

Ronon turned Sheppard around by his shoulders and looked him straight in the eye. "I don't understand." he said, annoyed at the pleading in his own voice.

Sheppard sighed again. "He didn't ask, I didn't tell. Can we just go to bed now, please?"

Ronon punched the door in frustration. He was terrified that this was far too easy, and that something surely had to go wrong. He clearly wasn't going to get anything useful from Sheppard tonight, so he followed the Colonel to bed and curled up with him. "So we're really OK?" he asked quietly. "You're not going to be sent back to Earth or anything?"

Half-asleep, Sheppard said "Yeah, we're OK."

Feeling immensely relieved – though still perplexed about not asking and not telling – Ronon wrapped his arm around Sheppard's waist. As he listened to the Colonel's breath become slower as he drifted off to sleep, he noticed a particularly flyaway section of hair at the back of Sheppard's head, and leaned in to kiss it. As he did, he whispered something he never thought he'd say to anyone again. "I love you." Convinced the man in his arms was asleep; he was startled by the movement of Sheppard's head and shoulders as they turned slightly towards him.

"Good job I love you too then, isn't it? Now go to sleep Chewie…and that _is_ an order." he said, the smile clear in his voice.

With a beaming smile on his face, the Satedan shifted closer and slid his thigh between the Colonel's legs. He could feel the slight scratch of healing skin over the cut on Sheppard's thigh, but it didn't seem to be causing any pain, as the man didn't even flinch. Sighing contentedly, Ronon held on tighter and followed the order he'd been given.

~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~

They both slept soundly, Ronon waking first, holding Sheppard close until he too joined the world of the waking.

The following day, Ronon wished they had both totally ignored the chiming of the doorbell and the calls on their comm pieces. That way, maybe his world couldn't have slowly started to crumble around him.

TBC…


	16. Chapter 16

_**When the night comes - chapter 16**_

After the constant summons from McKay via their comm piece, and Lorne's unrelenting chiming of the doorbell of the Colonel's quarters, there was no way Ronon or Sheppard were going to be left alone.

Ronon made sure to leave it a few minutes before he slipped out, unseen by anyone passing. He quickly made his way to the briefing room, where a worried Elizabeth, Carson, McKay, Teyla and Major Lorne sat. He joined the group with a mumbled apology; and after a steadying breath Elizabeth began talking.

"We've had word that there has been a further outbreak of the virus, only this time, it's manifested in a much more aggressive manner."

"What do you mean by _aggressive_?" Ronon interrupted.

"I mean, Ronon, that people affected have literally become aggressive. A small number have become violent towards their family, friends, other villagers and even trading partners. They have been restrained for everyone's safety, including their own until a cure can be found." She sighed again, clasping her hands together before continuing. "There have been three deaths reported, with at least a dozen people seriously injured, who may or may not live. This has all happened in the last week, so there may well be more incidents that we don't know about yet."

"What happened to them?" Sheppard and Ronon both spoke at the same time.

"At this stage it's difficult to say exactly," Carson said, "though we've heard that there are what appears to be varying degrees of cuts and lacerations on the victims. Some may even be stab wounds, and we believe that two of the three men who died had been involved in a fight. They both had wounds all over their bodies, and there are rumours that there were areas with chunks of flesh missing. Their wounds were so severe that each of them bled out. Neither of them stood a chance of survival, by all accounts."

"How do we know all this?" Sheppard asked, worry and anger both lacing his voice.

"We were contacted by four separate villages we've had trades with in the last six months, including two who were some of the earliest to cease trading with us after the first outbreak."

"What made them get in touch now if they didn't want anything to do with us?" Ronon asked.

Carson and Elizabeth exchanged grave looks, before the Scotsman began speaking. "They all say that until there was an outbreak on Atlantis, none of their villages had been infected. Once the virus began, it spread to neighbouring villages and consequently their other trading partners."

"Surely they can't think we had anything to do with it!" Rodney cried.

Weir's expression hardened. "It seems to have been implied that this was the case at first, but since they've had no contact with Atlantis, or anyone connected with us, they're happy that we had no involvement."

As the information sunk in, Ronon felt the anger rise up in him. "So what, now they want our _help_?"

"Easy big man," Carson soothed, with a pat to Ronon's forearm. "This…this…plague of sorts, is spreading to several planets throughout the galaxy, and someone has to stop it. Most of the doctor and medicines in these villages are essentially primitive compared to the technology and resources we have access to. Now it's escalated, and we can't sit back and do nothing while this bloody thing is killing people!"

Sheppard leaned forward towards the rest of the group. "So this is all the information we have? It's not like we've not been doing everything we can for months now. All we know is that it's getting worse, we still don't have any idea what it is, or where it's coming from. Where do we even start…all over again?"

Lorne spoke for the first time, his frown so deep the lines marred his forehead. "After we got all the relevant information from everyone we could, it seems that there's only one planet – well more specifically, one _village_ - that they all have in common, besides Atlantis."

"Where?" Ronon and Sheppard asked in unison, again.

They both looked expectantly around the table, waiting for someone to speak. When they didn't Ronon's impatience got the better off him. "Where is it, damn it? We need to speak to them and find out what the _fuck_ is going on!" he all but shouted. Weir shot him a glare. "Sorry, I just… this all so ridiculous, you can't blame a guy for getting worked up!"

"No, you're right," Elizabeth said, "but it's not going to help us."

McKay's voice was also impatient when he spoke again. "You still haven't told us which village it is. Ronon's right, we have to go and get some information before anyone else gets hurt or killed."

Ronon noticed from the corner of his eye that Sheppard had straightened in his seat, and when he turned to follow the Colonel's gaze, he was looking at straight at the last of their team members.

"Teyla? You've been awfully quiet, is there something you know that we don't?"

Her posture too, stiffened slightly. "It was not my intention to give that impression John, you know as much as I do, but I must admit I have my suspicions."

"_What_?" McKay screeched.

"Calm down, Rodney," Weir snapped. "Carson and I have only just finished speaking to the last of the villages, and it made sense to bring everyone together so as not to repeat ourselves."

"Can we please just get on with it, then?" McKay snapped back.

"It's P3M-499." Elizabeth said, "They were our most recent trading partners, the ones who held the village feast you all attended."

"I _knew_ there was something weird about them. I said from the beginning that there was something weird going on there!" Ronon snarled. He stood so quickly, his chair sliding halfway across the room before toppling over. He had his hand on his gun, and was staring between the other people around the table. "Well come on then, let's go and see what they have to say for themselves."

"Ronon, we can't go in there all guns blazing," Carson said, "we need to talk to them and find out what we can _discretely_, not by barging in and demanding answers. We don't even know for sure that they have anything to do with it. So far all we know for certain is that they're the common denominator in all of this."

"I can be discrete!"

Sheppard and Lorne both laughed out loud, but it was Teyla that spoke. "You have to admit Ronon, that subtlety isn't your best quality!"

He felt like a chastised child. "Well maybe not, but I can help in other ways."

Sheppard shrugged, then nodded in agreement.

"Maybe there is a way to approach this in a sensitive manner." Teyla said.

Weir turned to her, "Such as?"

Teyla glanced quickly around the room before speaking. "As you know, I have become somewhat friendly with Maya, one of our hosts from the night of the feast."

"Congratulations, you made a friend"! McKay griped, "What does that have to do with anything?"

Teyla paid no mind to his tone of voice, continuing in her steady tone. "I am sure that if I were to pay her a visit, I could get further information from her without arousing suspicion, should there be any."

Elizabeth mulled the suggestion over. "OK, you're right, it's a good way to start – keeping it friendly is a sensible approach, but I won't have you go alone."

"I think it would be best if I did, Elizabeth. I have visited several times unescorted, to do so now would seem…unusual. Surely it would be best for me to continue in the same manner?"

"_Absolutely_ not!" Sheppard said forcefully, standing and pacing slightly, clearly mulling things over himself. "OK, this is what we're going to do. Lorne, they don't know you, you weren't at any of the negotiations. Go with her to make sure she's safe. Your cover can be that you're new to the expedition, and Teyla is introducing you to the people most likely to be in regular contact with."

"That sounds plausible. That's settled." Elizabeth said, nodding. "You should go now, the sooner we get some intel, the sooner we can get to work. I don't like it, but Teyla's right, it's the best way to handle the situation. After we know more, we can re-assess."

"Yes, ma'am." Lorne said.

~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~

It was late afternoon by the time Teyla and Lorne returned to Atlantis. When they came back through the 'gate both looked tired, frustrated and a little worried.

The team again sat in the briefing room, Elizabeth and Carson both present as the information was shared.

"We thought we'd managed to ask few enough questions, but they didn't seem to see it that way." Lorne said. "It's like they were on to us straight away. As soon as Teyla asked if they had heard of any more outbreaks in the neighbouring villages, Maya shut down and changed the subject."

"When I tried again a couple of hours later," Teyla explained, "Maya went to speak to her father, who wasted no time in asking us what we knew about the sickness, and whether we had any idea what the cause may be."

"Obviously, we kept it as brief as possible, but they knew that we were holding out on them and they're _not_ happy. They think we deceived them by not asking them directly." Lorne looked between Sheppard and Dr. Weir, and the worried look spread across his features again. "They're willing to share what information they have, in return for total honesty from us. We told them about when the sickness started, how rapidly it spread, and how far afield. They asked what we'd managed to learn about it, but we refused to go into specifics until we got something in return."

"You made the right call, Major." Elizabeth said, but she was clearly confused. "It's a good thing they agreed to share with us, so why am I getting a bad feeling about this?"

"They are only willing to speak to Colonel Sheppard and Ronon." Teyla offered.

"What? Why us?" Sheppard asked.

"They said that you two were the key to all of this." Lorne said, suspiciously. "They kept asking about your condition, asking how you were both behaving, like they were expecting a certain answer. I don't like it one little bit – they seemed almost pleased with it all."

"I don't understand." Ronon said. He was totally at a loss as to the sudden change in ignoring Teyla's questions, but then freely offering up information in return for intel on him and Sheppard.

"Me neither," Sheppard said, "but it seems there's only one way to find out. Elizabeth?"

When they all turned to look at her, it was obvious that she was unhappy with the situation. "It seems we don't have choice. If we're to help everyone affected, we need that information. You have to go."

~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~

Just before they stepped into the wormhole, Ronon turned to the Colonel with a knot in his stomach. "I've got a bad feeling about this, Sheppard."

"Me too, buddy, me too."

**TBC**


	17. Chapter 17

_**Chapter**____**17**_

The same mousy haired man that greeted them on their last visit was waiting for them at the gate. Ronon noticed that he didn't appear as nervous as he did last time. In fact, when he greeted them, and gestured towards where they knew the village lay, there was a small knowing smirk playing on his lips. Always one to pick up on subtle details like that, Ronon didn't like it one little bit.

"So how have you been?" Sheppard prompted. The faux cheeriness and sarcasm was evident in his voice, though the man ignored it.

"We are well, Colonel Sheppard, thank you for asking."

Ronon frowned. "We?" he said, looking between the man and Sheppard.

The man stopped walking and turned towards them. He glanced up at the darkening sky, and spoke calmly. "Yes, we. Here in our village, we like to think of ourselves as one big family. It is rare that any of us are ill, and when we are, more than one is usually affected. You must forgive my assumption that you would know this." He bowed slightly towards them, and silently continued the journey.

To say Ronon was uncomfortable was an understatement. The knot in his stomach from only minutes before was now clenching and unclenching unpleasantly. "I'm curious," he said, keeping his voice as light as possible, "why is it that it's always dusk when we come here? It's a little… creepy." The man either didn't hear, or chose to ignore the question.

Beside him, Sheppard stopped. "Listen…," he looked expectantly at the man.

"Therian," he said softly, "my name is Therian. I am somewhat surprised you have not asked me that before."

"You haven't exactly volunteered much information, now have you?" Sheppard replied, with a sigh. The other man simply nodded, and began walking again.

Ronon was a little confused as he followed – he was almost certain they had learned the names of the people they had directly spoken with previously. He shrugged it off, they couldn't be expected to remember every little detail, now, could they?

~ . ~ . ~ . ~

As they entered the village, both Ronon and Sheppard were instantly on alert. The general babble of noise initially stopped, the turned into what the Satedan felt was curious and excited at the same time as the small party neared them.

Ronon leaned closer to Sheppard, who had been almost in touching distance as it was, as was normal for them these days. "Something's not right here, Sheppard."

Glancing quickly around them, the Colonel nodded. His eyes swept over the faces of the crowd, leading Ronon to do the same thing. It was difficult to make out exact expressions – the sky had darkened further as they'd walked, and the only light was from the fires all around them. What Ronon could make out though, made him even more anxious. He saw curiosity, looks that screamed 'we know something that you don't', excitement; and in some cases, what he would swear was pure lust.

"Colonel Sheppard! Ronon!" a female voice rang out.

Turning to the source, Ronon recognised the woman. "_Melissa_?" he asked with some confusion. _Melissa_was Athosian, one of the people on the mainland – in fact, the one who had pierced his nipple, so he wasn't likely to forget her!

She stopped in front of him, a small smile on her face. "Close," she said, "Maya, Teyla's friend!"

"But – " he began, but was cut off by her taking his hand in both of hers. She looked him straight in the eye, with a small smile on her face, "You must be confusing me with someone else, Ronon. Much merriment was had at the feast of Rypvaem and there are many families here. A lot of people can mistake a person for another."

Ronon shook his head, shaking away a fogginess that had settled, and – somehow - he knew with certainty that he'd been mistaken. "Yes, I'm sorry," he said, pulling his hand away, "that must be it."

Sheppard was looking at him, puzzlement clear on his face, but before he could speak, Maya pulled them both by the arm to a nearby tent. "Please," she said, opening the piece of cloth covering the entrance, "wait here. My father is most keen to speak to you. As one of the village Elders, he wishes to address you formally and is changing into finer clothes – he will be along shortly."

"About that," Sheppard said, lowering himself onto the nearby bench that Maya gestured to, "why can't you tell us what's going on? And why is it that Ronon and I are the only ones you guys will speak to?"

"Doctor Weir's really the one your people should be speaking to," Ronon interjected, "if this is the kind of situation where village Elders are called for, you really should be speaking to our leader, too."

Maya smiled. "That is not our way, Ronon. Leaders are not who we trade with, they are not who we see during our exchanges. It is our custom to build relationships with those who are directly in contact with us. We do of course respect the role of peoples' leaders in our relationship, as we respect the role of our own Elders. This is an important thing to us." She pulled another bench towards her, and sat facing the two men. "You must understand that our customs and traditions have served us well for many generations. We are aware that some find our ways a little…unusual, yet that does not mean that we should abandon them to suit the needs of others."

Ronon felt like he'd missed whole chunk of the conversation.

"No-one's saying that you should change your whole tradition, Maya," Sheppard said. To Ronon's relief, the Colonel sounded a little confused by the turn in conversation as well. "We just don't understand the need for us to come here under these circumstances. Although I'm the leader of my _team_, it's not my decision who we do or don't trade with. I'm can't speak for the people of Atlantis, and neither can Ronon. Can't you tell us what's going on?"

Maya stood. "I'm afraid I cannot answer that, Colonel, it is not my place. My father will be here soon enough, and your patience will be rewarded. I think you'll find what he has to say to be most…enlightening." A knowing smile grew across her face, and her heated gaze roamed over them both before she left the tent.

~ . ~ . ~ . ~ . ~

The longer they waited for Maya's father to put in an appearance, the more agitated they both got. Sheppard kept peeking out of the folds of the tent, trying to see what was going on; yet slapped Ronon's hand away when he tried to do the same thing.

"We can't just stand around here Sheppard," Ronon said as he paced back and forth, "I say we go and find him instead of waiting here like a sitting ducks."

Sheppard raised an eyebrow, "Sitting ducks? Exactly what do you think we're waiting for here, Ronon?" he chuckled.

The Satedan scowled back at his lover. "We don't _know_ what we're waiting for! He could be coming to tell us any old crap that's even more cryptic than we've been told already. Enough with the 'waiting things out' bullshit," he said, pulling his gun from the holster, "let's just _make_ them tell us what we need to know!"

"So patient!" Sheppard laughed, his eyes softening as he smiled. He reached out to grasp the back of Ronon's neck, digging his fingers in and rubbing small circles that he knew would usually ease some of the tension there.

Ronon sighed deeply, and let his forehead briefly rest against the Colonel's own. "I just wanna know what we can do to get people better, Sheppard." He didn't like the feelings he was dealing with at the moment – the frustration of not knowing what they were fighting, how to help those people infected. It was weighing on him heavily. Things were tense on Atlantis, and it was having a knock on effect on morale. More and more, Ronon was finding himself craving Sheppard's touch, even just for comfort. It had been such a long time since he'd felt so useless, so _vulnerable_, that it was a constant struggle.

"I know buddy, we all do," Sheppard replied, pushing back a stray dreadlock that had fallen onto Ronon's face."

The sound of someone clearing their throat startled them, both men instinctively going for their guns and turning in the direction of the noise.

"My apologies for the delay, gentlemen, I am afraid there was an urgent matter that required my attention."

The man in the doorway was dressed in fur robes, mostly in shades of grey and white. The fur looked heavy, warm, soft and inviting, and Ronon idly wondered if they could get something similar for him and Sheppard to lie together on…amongst other things. He cursed himself for letting his mind wander… the robes just called to him for some reason.

"We were beginning to think you'd forgotten about us," Sheppard joked.

There was a rumbling laugh. "Believe me, that would not be possible Colonel Sheppard. Not now anyway."  
As he came closer to the fire and further into the light of the fire, Ronon could see the man's bare chest, covered with scars in various shades of grey and white, some even looked slightly pink as is they were fresher than the others. Around his neck there hung a necklace, but Ronon couldn't make out what adorned it. The shadow from the – for want of a better word – headdress that the stranger was wearing made it too dark to see clearly.

"Please, sit," he said, gesturing back to the bench they men had been sat on earlier. He walked over to the table and filled three goblets from the jug there, offering one to each of them. Ronon took it reluctantly, but didn't drink, nor did he sit.

"We're here to find out what's going on, so if it's all the same to you, I'd rather get the information we need and get out there and _help_people, instead of sitting on our asses drinking ale!" Ronon spat.

"Easy, easy." Sheppard said, raising a hand between the other men.

"Isn't he a feisty one?" the man asked. "I like that!" he gestured between Ronon and Sheppard with his hand, "as do you Colonel, obviously." He said, the smirk evident in his voice.

Ronon's blood was boiling. Enough was enough – he wasn't going to stand around being mocked by this bastard while people were dying. "Look," he growled, "you're the one who demanded we come here, and here we are, so talk already!"

"You're right, I am sorry. You must have many questions – I will do my best to answer them for you."

Not being able to see the man's face was unsettling. "Uncover your face, I like to be able to look into a man's eye when I talk to him, I want to know if he's lying."

Another deep rumbling laugh came from the man, whilst he pulled the headdress off. "A wise idea, Ronon, a wise idea."

"_Therian_?" both men asked, as the apparent village Elder smiled at them.

TBC

* ~ *

End notes: I promise I will get the next chapter up soon. RL has been hell for me the last few months, and I've had the worst case of writer's block of my entire life! This chapter didn't go as far as answering things as I would've liked, but I wanted to give you guys _something_! I hope you've not all lost interest now! :s The (hopefully!) good news is that I'm planning to throw in an extra chapter with a sex scene in it, because I can plausibly fit it into the story! :p

As always, feedback is like caffeine... and I **need** caffeine! LOL


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